By Emma Grove

Swale police officers are using the latest technology to crackdown on crime.

PCs and PCSOs have been out and about on the borough’s streets asking residents what their main concerns are and what they think officers’ priorities should be – and logging them at the touch of a button.

The mobile hand-held devices have been launched for officers across the mid Kent policing area, which covers Swale.

The idea is to pinpoint community issues, from anti-social behaviour to other crimes, and find out where neighbourhood police officers are needed most.

Officers are using the technology daily to find out residents’ concerns and also provide the public with useful information, such as who their PCSO is, how to contact them and what the priorities are for their area.

Once logged, the information can be easily accessed by other neighbourhood officers to help them better respond to the needs of the community.
Personal information including sex, age, ethnic origin and sexual orientation can also be taken, but is not compulsory, to allow analysis of what issues affect different community groups, age groups and also to identify hate crime including racism and homophobia.

Since the technology was launched in December last year, the Sittingbourne Neighbourhood Team has spoken to 743 people.

Issues identified include inconsiderate parking and other traffic issues in Oak Lane, Upchurch, and dog fouling at Johnson Gardens.

The Island Neighbourhood Team has spoken to 227 people and some of their issues include motorbikes being ridden in an anti-social way on the green at Minster Cliffs and damage and graffiti in Sheerness town centre.

Sittingbourne Neighbourhood Inspector Evan Jones said: “The use of this modern technology allows our officers to speak with members of our community to find out exactly what their concerns are and how Kent Police can best help them.

“There are no forms to fill in back at the station – the data can be fed into our computer system within minutes so officers can remain out on the beat.

“This means that if you have a problem with anti-social behaviour, inconsiderate parking or any other issue that is important to you we can identify it, take action and then feed back the results to the community.”