A POLICE shift towards stamping out anti-social crime in communities is expected to have an instant impact on estates in Maidstone.

The new Chief Constable of Kent, Michael Fuller, this week announced that he would make issues like vandalism, rowdiness and graffiti a priority in the county.

Cutting down on those crimes will be the role of three new Police Community Support Officers (CSOs), who will be assigned to the Maidstone estates in the next few months.

They will link up with a number of other schemes including the new Park Wood Healthy Living Centre which are aimed at improving life for residents of the estates.

It comes as Maidstone and Malling Police announced that reported crime has dropped in the last six months compared to last year.

Overall crime has dropped by 4.1 per cent across the area. In Shepway the total number of crimes reported between July and September has dropped from 202 last year to 188.

Cllr Danny Murphy (Lab), who represents Shepway ward on Maidstone Borough Council, said: "In the last two years we have seen extra CCTV, extra lighting and more awareness of the need to design-out crime in estates.

"The new support officers and the extra focus of the police in looking at issues of lower-level crime and anti-social behaviour should make all of these areas safer and more pleasant."

The Park Wood CSO is expected to start duty in December and will link up with the new Healthy Living Centre, in Park Wood Parade.

Di Fitter, of the centre, said: "The CSO will come into our centre and pick up issues that have been brought up by residents. It will mean important issues can be dealt with quickly."

The CSOs are half-funded by the Home Office. The rest of the cost will be met by the Safer Maidstone Partnership.