TWO senior police officers from the south Kent area have visited a police chief from Boulogne, France.

Area Commander, Ch Supt Steve Harris and Ch Insp Luke Dodson met Commissaire Serge-Marcel Estier, the Police Nationale Divisional Commander of Boulogne at his office this week.

The officers discussed a number of issues including a new bi-lingual crime report that has been adopted in the Calais region and a new overseas student passport which is designed to boost the personal safety of the hundreds of European students, many of whom from Boulogne, who visit Folkestone each summer and vice versa.

The visit, which coincided with Police National Day in France where police stations across the nation opened up their doors to the public, was part of the joint agreement between Kent Police and the police in the Pas-de-Calais.

The historic agreement was signed by Chief Constable Mike Fuller and the then Préfet du Pas-de-Calais M. Cyrille Schott in 2004 and has led to greater co-operation between the two forces.

There is now much closer collaboration between the Dover and Calais ports and between the Channel tunnel terminal in Folkestone, and the terminal in Calais Coquelles, and also in the way the two forces tackle cross border crime and national security issues.

Ch Supt Harris also presented M. Estier with a commemorative plaque to mark the 150th anniversary of Kent Police.