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downsmail.co.uk Police ‘likely to face more cuts’
THE local chief superintendent says more cuts are likely, despite the police force losing almost 20% of its budget in the past three years. Kent Police’s previous £300m budget has been cut by £70m after two separate spending reviews: £50mwas trimmed in 2011 and sav- ings needed to be made by 2016 are £20m. Steve Corbishley, Chief Superin- tendent ofWest Kent Division, says this has resulted in the loss of 500 po- lice officers and 1,000 police support workers in the county. He added: “We anticipate further
cuts by the Government.” But the force has so far managed
Historic homes OLDER residents in Maidstone can purchase a slice of the town’s his- tory, in the latest building phase at Audley Mote House. Work has begun on the penulti-
mate phase of the retirement vil- lage adjoining Mote Park, and among the 43 properties being of- fered for sale are the brew house and dairy, part of the original Geor- gian estate. They are due to be com- pleted by next autumn.
to cope, he insists. “Kent has con- centrated on investing in and main- taining frontline and local policing, which is provided by 13 district teams in the county, and to protect resources in areas such as se- rious and organ- ised crime,” he added. “We are main- taining 24/7 polic-
Ch Supt Steve Corbishley
ing. Each district team is led by a chief inspector with frontline offi- cers, CID and PCSOs.” Ch Supt Corbishley said most of
Festive treat
MULLED wine and mince pies are included at Maidstone Men- cap’s Christmas Concert with The Detling Singers at Cobtree Hall, Mote Park (School Lane entrance, offWillington Street), Maidstone. The event is on Saturday, De- cember 6 and doors open at 6.30pm. Tickets £6 each. Call Ann on 07548 152201.
the jobs lost were through “natural wastage” – retirements and volun- tary redundancies. Some members of staff had moved to other depart- ments within the organisation. “While we can’t deny that there
has been a reduction in resources, we have tried to maintain frontline services,” he said. “One of our areas of focus is to re-
duce the demand in areas such as anti-social behaviour by working closely with other
agencies.Asignif- icant amount of repeat business is dealing with people with mental health problems. We have been working closely with mental health groups to reduce the demand.
Pick up gifts
HI-KENT, the county’s charity for people with hearing loss, will be selling its wooden Christmas gifts, ornaments, cards and pud- dings from the Christmas shop next to the United Reformed Church in Week Street, Maid- stone. The store is open from 10am to
3pm, from Mondays to Satur- days, until December 13.
“We are also looking at areas such
as technology and investing in IT, al- lowing officers to do work at a crime scene they would have previously had to return to the police station to do. Shared services with other forces have also helped us deliver services in a differentway. “We are looking at PCSOs and
what additional work they can pro- vide to help victims of crime. They are very popular in local communi- ties and remain an essential part of policing in Kent.” Although he anticipates more
cuts, Ch Supt Corbishley says none are planned in forthcoming budgets. “We are still recruiting,” he said.
Produce on show
THE Maidstone Horticultural Soci- ety holds its autumn vegetable and dahlia show at the Baptist Church Hall, Knightrider Street, on Satur- day, December 6. Exhibits include vegetables, flow-
ers, fruit, floral art, cookery and handicrafts. Refreshments will be available. Admission to the show, from1.30pm to 4pm, is 50p. For de- tails, call 01622 674384/756023.
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Malling December 2014
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