POLICE will be stepping up patrols in Snodland after the town was branded a crime hotspot over the festive season. It was one of the four worst affected areas in Maidstone and Malling in the run up to Christmas, according to fortnightly statistics compiled by the Neighbourhood Watch Association.

More police patrols, both in cars and on foot can be expected in the Snodland after break-ins in Church Field, Simpson Road, Malling Road and Holborough Road in the second half of December.

The reports are carried out throughout the year to pick out which of the 810 Neighbourhood Watch areas in Maidstone and Malling are suffering the most crime and to set targets of how to stamp it out.

Identified areas then become the focus of a local campaign to crack down on offenders or types of crime which are rife. These can include vandalism, burglary, anti-social behaviour or drug offences.

PC Mick Wright, the police's Neighbourhood Watch Liaison Officer, claims the system is one of the best in the county, as it gives a communities a chance to say what policing they need the most. He said: "Every two weeks the senior management team meet and have a tactical review of serious crime over those weeks. As a result we highlight hot-spot areas and pick out all the types of crimes that have occurred there."

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