Dear Residents. 

Since my last update a lot of work has been put into not only Paddock Wood and Capel, but the whole of the Tunbridge Wells district by your neighbourhood teams. Here's an update in regard to some of the work going on in Capel and Paddock Wood:

Nuisance motorbikes, E-Bikes & E-Scooters:

I want to thank everyone that has contacted me or Kent Police regarding this issue. Due to the number of reports, it has been noted not only by myself, but the management of our team. This has led to me creating a specific Pro-active Management Plan on, to look at a structured approach to dealing with the issue. A lot of work has already gone into this, with more to do. Whilst I am pro-actively looking to patrol the areas affected and deal with any individuals that are involved, I am taking a joint approach to this issue. I have involved 7 different partner agencies with this, with a view to solving it in the long term. 

I urge people to continue reporting these incidents. Thanks to the reports already received, a lot of evidence has already been gathered to deal with the issue. 

Catapults:

Over the past month or so, there has been an increase in reports of youths using catapults in Paddock Wood and Capel. Whilst there are not as many reports of this, than the nuisance bikes, it is still something I am actively looking into and following up on. Thanks to the support of residents, quick reporting and CCTV enquiries, we have made progress with some of the individuals involved in these incidents of Anti-Social Behaviour. Much the same as the nuisance bikes, dealing with individuals involved in this behaviour, is usually followed up on with a joint response with other agencies or departments like Social Services, the Child Centred Policing Team, Housing Associations and the Borough Council. 

Please continue to report these incidents to police, and I will continue to follow these up where possible and get any individuals dealt with that we can identify. 

Youth club & other community engagements:

Whilst my main role is to deal with anti-social behaviour and look to reduce crime in the area, I have also been involved with community groups and initiatives over the past month. 

It was fantastic to see a new project starting up on Friday 6th June with the Youth Club starting in Paddock Wood. I hugely welcome this to Paddock Wood and can already see that the volunteers that have set this up and are running it have some grand plans. I know information on this is available online, but this is currently running every Friday, at the Paddock Wood Community Centre between 15:30-18:30 for people aged between 11-18. 

This is just a glimpse into what work has been going into Capel and Paddock Wood. Thank you again for your continued support and to those of you that I have come into contact with since my last update. Please ensure that anything is reported that you believe to be necessary.

Kind regards,

PC Connor Geelan.

Beat Officer - Capel & Paddock Wood.