News


94% of Maidstone lier fines aimed at smokers


THE vast majority of fines handed out for “littering” in Maidstone have been for dropping cigarette ends, Downs Mail has learnt. Almost 94% of fixed penalty no-


tices (FPNs) have been targeted at smokers discarding butts in the pe- riod April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2017. Atotal of 1,921 ticketswere issued


in that period with the second cate- gory of offence filed under “other litter” with just 78 fines (4%). Food accounted for 23 tickets (1.2%), fouling five (0.26%) and paper 11 (0.6%). Our discoveries come as Maid-


stone Borough Council (MBC) has roundly defended the private con- tractor, Kingdom Security, which carries out its litter enforcement. MBC took 50% of the estimated £153,000 generated from the £80 on- the-spot fines issued in 2016/17 by Kingdom’s operatives. Kingdom denies it pays its staff a


bonus scheme for tickets issued but rather employs a more general “competency allowance” which takes in other factors such as cus- tomer service aswell as the FPNs.


is wrong and there is a moral duty to look very carefully at the terms of this contract because the council is the responsible body. “Unfortunately, we live in a soci-


ety where people just chuck stuff away in away they did not 30 or 40 years ago. “But, in this case, we have to be careful about the terms of engage- ment.”


Kingdomwas suspended on May


MBC has also chosen to back Kingdom, despite a BBC Panorama documentary which clearly set out the case that Kingdom does operate bonus-for-tickets system. Borough councillor Eddie Powell,


who is worried the authority may lose the moral argument over ticket- ing, said: “If there is a public back- lash over this, then it will be the council which will be blamed by the public not Kingdom. “MBC has employed this com-


pany to carry out the work and takes 50 per cent of the ticket money for doing very little. Morally, MBC


Police hunt lakes vandals


POLICE and council officials have appealed for information after a two- month spate of vandalism at Leybourne Lakes Country Park. Tonbridge and Malling Council said: “During March and April a number of notice boards and signs were vandalised and several trees within the park were damaged. All the incidents have been reported to Kent Police, who are investigating. Both the police and the borough council would welcome any information that residents and park visitors may have that could help prevent further criminal damage.” Darren Lanes, the council’s


head of leisure, said: “Leybourne Lakes Country Park is a well-used and much-valued local park. While the site is primarily maintained by the borough council, many local volunteers give a great deal of their time to assist in the park’s management


and upkeep.We would appreciate any information the public may have regarding these ongoing incidents to ensure the park continues to be kept in a good and safe condition.” Call Kent Police on 101, quoting the crime reference number YY/008891/17 or email leisure.services@tmbc.gov.uk.


Group’s magical meeting


AYLESARA (Aylesford Active Retirement Association) will hold its next meeting on Thursday, June 22, when there will be a talk by Jack Devlin entitled My Magic Life. For more details about the group, which meets monthly at the com- munity centre inAylesford, see itswebsite at www.aylesara.co.uk or con- tactWayne on 01622 710794.


12 Malling June 2017


16 in thewake of the Panorama pro- gramme’s revelations butwere back on the streets again the following day.


Last October, the Kingdom war-


dens were suspended after one handed out a ticket to a woman feeding ducks in Tovil. An MBC spokesman said King-


dom does offer staff “a competency allowance but it’s not just attached to fixed penalty notices, it’s linked to other things as well.” She added: “The competency allowance is exer- cised here...how they are conducting themselves is rigorously policed by ourselves.We expect them to en- force fairly and transparently.”


downsmail.co.uk How you reacted to


BBC documentary THIS is how our Facebook followers reacted to the news of the Panorama expose. Readers were outraged how Kingdom Security – which carries out the borough council's litter enforce- ment policy – appeared to focus on soft targets for on the spot fines. The BBC inves- tigation also re- vealed that its operatives get in- centives for dish- ing out penalty notices.


This is a taste of the comments on


our Facebook site: Michelle Hook: "There are not enough bins provided for litter or cig- arette ends in the Maidstone area, they could use the money fromjust one fine to provide a bin, but they want the money fromfines." Laura Daynes: "I now see other com- muters warning other people, and less of these wardens hanging around as a result, win, win!!" Ade Rowswell: "After they fined one of our employees for CLEARING litter from the front of our building & with- out providing a shred of evidence. I am very glad to read this." Carolyn Morgan: "Brilliant news. One of them tried to finemy husband for dropping a cigarette end and he doesn't even smoke." www.facebook.com/downsmailnews


Teen burglar used crowbar to smash hisway into flat


A TEENAGER who used a crow- bar to break into a flat in Lark- field to steal jewellery and designer watches worth thou- sands of pounds has been sen- tenced to three years in a young offenders’ institution. Maidstone Crown Court heard


how “prolific burglar” Jack Reader smashed hisway in to the property off The Lakes last year and took valuables, laptops, a safe and a key for the victim’s car. Police used fingerprints from a


door and in the communal hall to link Reader to the burglary over the Christmas holidays, between December 19 and 22. DNA on a brick used to smash


a window at another property in Milford Close, Maidstone, on April 29, 2016, was also linked to Reader.


Standing sentence at the crown


court on May 26, the 19-year-old, formerly of Hackney Road,Maid- stone, had denied any wrong doing, but later admitted two counts of burglary. Detective Constable Lisa


Stevens said: “Jack Reader is a prolific offender, whose crimes at such a relatively young age will have impacted on the lives of a


number of people. For most vic- tims, once they have been bur- gled their homes are never the same again. “The effects of these crimes can


be devastating and long-lasting, with people often frightened to go out, or even worried to go to bed for fear of being targeted again. “I would hope that Reader will


take the opportunity during his time in custody to recognise the profound consequences of his ac- tions and engage with the pro- grammes that are available to help break his cycle of offend- ing.”


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