News


‘Call for action’ after fatal town stabbing


ATOWNcentreboroughcouncil- lor has issued a “call for action” following the suspected murder ofAndre Bent (pictured right). Mr Bent (21), of Lambeth, Lon-


don, died following a disturbance in the High Street in the early hours of Sunday,August 25, after allegedly being stabbed. Cllr Jonathan Purle, who


warned against the county town's “descent into barbarism” imme- diately after the killing, has asked searching questions of LiberalDe- mocrat-run Maidstone Borough Council of its crime and disorder policies and of Kent Police. In a letter to Cllr Derek Mor-


timer, chairman of theCommuni- ties, Housing and Environment Committee, he cited concerns about “violence and lawlessness” in the county town. The Conservative member for


Bridgewardwrote: “Anumber of us have for some time been vocal in warning that the level of vio-


lence and law- lessness on the streets


of


Maidstone has been steadily and continu- ously rising. “We have in


been met


certain quarters with elements of denial and naivety bordering on dogmatic refusal to grasp the true nature of Maidstone's criminal and antisocial elements and the need for firmaction.”


Policing, the


effectiveness of CCTV, licencing issues, street vio- lence and use of antisocial behav- iour legislation are mentioned in the letter to CllrMortimer. Maidstone Borough Council


Site of the disturbance in High Street,Maidstone, in which Londonman Andre Bent died


chief executive Alison Broom ac- knowledgedCllr Purle’s concerns in an email: “..we received a ‘Call for Action – The Safety of Maid- stone’s Streets’ from Cllr Purle which raised a range of important


A 16-YEAR-old boy has been charged with the murder ofAndre Bent inMaidstone. The teenager, from Hornsey, north London, who


cannot be named,was arrested on September 1 and has also been chargedwith the attemptedmurder of three other men and possession of an offensive weapon. He appeared before Medway magistrates on September 2. Kent and Essex Serious Crime directorate is in-


issues and requested a number of items including contextual data concerning violent crime and ac- tions takenwhich seek to prevent or intervene to reduce the inci- dence and impact of violent crime in the borough.” Chief Inspector Ray Quiller


said: “Imust reassure people that Maidstone is a safe town.”


Boy fromLondon chargedwithmurder


vestigating the death ofMr Bent, and a total of eight people have been arrested, four ofwhich have been chargedwith violent disorder,with three others cur- rently on police bail. Anyonewith information should call 01622 654864


or visit Kent Police’s major incident public report- ing site at https://mipp.police.uk/ Alternatively, callCrimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or visitwww.crimestoppers-uk.org


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setinstonekent@aol.com 16 Maidstone October 2019


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