News | Neighbourhood watch AGM
downsmail.co.uk Gypsy prejudice ‘is like racism’
KENT Police’s gypsy and traveller expert believes prejudice against gypsies and travellers should be considered racism. PCKimWhite has been the lead of-
ficer of the gypsy liaison team since it was introduced by Kent Police in 2001. Although shewas raised in the settled community, she has relatives from theRomanygypsy community, so she is aware of cultural differences. She explained the differences be-
tween gypsy groups: English Ro- many (who tend to live on a permanent site and pay rent and
Cheap drinks
Continued from page one Jason Reilly, of Kent Trading Standards, said it would be diffi- cult to change drinking laws be- cause “large major retailers in the entertainment industry are an in- credibly powerful lobby. If they don’t want to play with you they won’t.” Ch Supt Corbishley added: “When a lapdancing club opened in Maidstone there were local ob- jections, but the ownerwas able to roll out a top barrister. These peo- ple are very powerful.
council tax for their plots), travellers (Irish, ScottishandWelsh,whoprefer to live transiently but have been re- siding in areas such as Headcorn on permanent sites which they own) and Roma (eastern Euro- peans, who have migrated in large numbersin recent
Kim White
years after the expansion of the EU). There are no council-owned sites
housing Roma at the moment in Kent. PC White (55) said: “People still
think it’sOKto be prejudiced against gypsies, although not against other minority ethnic groups. They do still grow up with a lot of prejudice, which makes them a lot more insular and closed because they don’t trust people like us who they refer to as ‘country folk’. “People think that because a lot of gypsies can’t read or write it means they are uneducated, but they are not. Many gypsies are professionals and
101 service ‘unacceptable’
KENT Police’s non-emergency 101 telephone service has been criticised by the local divisional commander. The schemewas launched in 2011 to reduce demand on 999 emergency
calls. The unanimous view of speakers at the Maidstone and District NeighbourhoodWatchAGMwas that itwas not up to scratch. One of its primary criticswas Steve Corbishley, chief superintendent of
West Kent Division, who said he was “thoroughly hacked off” by delays in answering calls. He said: “I have phoned 101 a few times and it has taken about 20 minutes to get through. It’s unacceptable sowe are work- ing to get a better service.” Ch Supt Corbishley said he would seek improvements to the service,
which costs users 15p per call, but added that the systemwas easily over- whelmed. “One incident can lead to 3,000 calls. People can remember 101 much easier and since itwas introducedwe have had 40% more calls.”
include doctors and politicians.” Areason for the rise in gypsies liv-
ing in permanent caravan pitches in the countryside is that theynowhave fewer stopping places. Gypsy chil- dren are required by law to attend school, so it is best for them to reside in one place permanently so that the children get a good education. Hermessage toNHWcoordinators
was: “If you have issues with the gypsy/travelling community don’t talk about it to yourselves; either go and speak with them or come to me and I will speak with them.”
Linda retires
as secretary LINDA Sinclair has stepped downas secretary of Maidstone and District Neighbourhood Watch after eight years. She said she would still be volunteering for the organisation and would con- tinue to be a coordinator for the Barming area, where she lives.
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