The county's residents are most concerned about serious violence, including weapon-carrying gangs, a survey has revealed.

Figures to be considered by the Kent & Medway Police and Crime panel today (February 6) show the issue to be top of the list with 65% of respondents naming it ahead of sexual offences (63%).

More than 4,500 respondents to Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott's questionnaire then listed child sexual exploitation (57%), anti-social behaviour (54%) and burglary/robbery (49%) as the most important.

The survey also showed that while nearly 34% of residents thought the county's police force performed "badly" or "quite badly", nearly 40% said the force was doing "well" or "extremely well".

Respondents were lukewarm on trust – Kent Police scoring just 6, with 10 being the highest.

On a scale where 10 was the highest, Kent Police scored only 6.3 when local people were asked to rate how safe they feel in their communities. This was down from 7.2 in 2022 but broadly in line with 2019 (6.4).

With a score of 7 overall, respondents in Tonbridge & Malling felt safest and least safe (5.8) in Dartford.

Mr Scott carried out the survey last year to take the temperature and to inform his ability to hold the Chief Constable to account.

Panel papers state: "Whilst not mandatory, to monitor how representative the sample was of Kent and Medway’s population, respondents were also asked to provide demographic information and indicate whether they worked for, or volunteered with Kent Police."

Nearly 23% of the respondents had been victims of crimes of which 81.7% said they reported them to Kent Police.

The most common crime types were anti-social behaviour, vehicle crime or criminal damage. This figure was up on 2022, when 20% of respondents said they had been victims of crime.

Of the 1,023 crime victims, 42.5% cited ASB; vehicle crime (18.4%); criminal damage (18.4%) and stalking/harassment (12.6%).

The survey revealed just 4.6% resulted in charges while Kent Police took no further action in 61.58% of the reported cases.

Mr Scott said: “I wanted to find out whether people in Kent did still trust the police, following several years of negative stories and the spotlight on the misconduct of police officers and staff.

"I am heartened to find that on the whole, people here do have faith in Kent Police, although I acknowledge there is still work to do, especially in regard to victims of crime.

“The new neighbourhood policing model, the improvements in the Force control room's performance and the increase in the number of people being charged show that Kent Police is moving in the right direction. This has been acknowledged by their latest independent inspection. "

The survey, which ran from July to November last year, was carried out as part of a wider consultation by Mr Scott.

A total of 4,538 people responded to the survey out of a population in Kent of 1.9m. Although, it represents just under 2% of Kent people, it would still be considered a healthy sample.

Most respondents came from Medway (12%), followed by Maidstone ( 11%) and Swale (10%).

The most typical age group to take part in the survey was 60-69 (24%) and 50-59 (20%).

Mr Scott is due to stand for re-election to a third term in May.