What Kent Police are doing to promote women’s safety
Summer 2022 Violence against women and girls inquiry report
Violence against women and girls makes up 38% of violent crime in Kent, an ever-growing Matthew Scott, Kent Police and crime commissioner launched a plan to tackle violence against women in Kent police’s new crime plan called Making Kent Safer, in that he stated one of his key priorities is tackling violence against women.
He wrote out a violence against women and girls inquiry report.
Summarising the need for this he said:
“Tragic events have highlighted that more needs to be done to address cases of violence against women and girls nationwide. Tackling this is one of my key priorities in Kent’s new Police and Crime Plan, called Making Kent Safer. I will be monitoring how the force deals with incidents, how offenders are brought to justice and how victims are being supported.”
Data from the report
Kent Police are both finding direct ways of supporting victims and prosecuting perpetrators but also exploring data from 2016 to 2022 to understand the factors that increase violence against women and girls. Stalking was noted as the highest growing type of crime in this category.
Maidstone Town Centre attracts offenders from further afield and has a higher concentration, but Chatham remains the place with highest volumes. The leading age of offenders are now 30-35, with 1989 being the peak year of offenders birth. Deprived areas of the County suffer 1 in 8 people aged 25-30 becoming victims.
The hot weather is known to increase the number of incidents.
Strategies overview
Educating the younger generation was noted as an important infrastructure to reducing violent incidents in Kent towards women and girls. One of the strategies put in place is the schools intervention programme. Extensive research will be furthered and victim support will be enhanced within communities.
The full report is available to read here: https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/vawg/final-vawg-inquiry-report—kent-pcc-summer-2022.pdf
What are Kent Police currently doing?
Kent Police officers from the Medway Task Force were joined by representatives from Medway Council, Crime Stoppers and Kent and Medway’s Violence Reduction Unit for the walk and talk event on the 9th of December in Rochester.
Police Sergeant Sasha Blomfield, of the Medway Task Force said:
‘Kent Police is committed to protecting women and girls no matter where they are, be it at home or work, or while out and about. I’d like to remind anyone who has been a victim of violence or other offence to report it to police straight away so we can investigate accordingly and provide help and assistance where needed.’
Upcoming events
16th of December 2022 between 5pm-7pm, another walk and talk event is being held in Rochester. Routes home that are the most well lit will be mapped out at the event, representatives and officers will ask about safety concerns within the town. Anti-spiking equipment is provided along with information on help point locations.
The next upcoming walk and talk event is being held on 13th of January from 8pm-10pm in Sittingbourne.
The safety of women and girls has been promoted at an event in #Rochester as part of ongoing work by Kent Police to ensure those in the town continue to feel safe living, working and visiting the area. Read more here: https://t.co/LaFwWYxaJB #VAWG #womenssafety
— Kent Police Medway (@KentPoliceMed) December 15, 2022
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Featured image: Kat Smith