Good afternoon and a Happy New Year to all.

This post is specifically for the attention of all residents on the 'tree estate' St Mary's Bay.

Many of you are aware that I posted a message on 14/10/2024 regarding general home security albeit it was partly due to a few incidents that had taken place.  That message is below.

The residents of the ‘tree’ estate in St Mary's Bay might have seen an increase in police attending the area over the past couple of weeks and indeed this weekend and some of you may know why that is but it is just to say that we are doing everything we can to resolve the issue in conjunction with other agencies.

There is no need for anyone to be alarmed by this but in the meantime what I would like to remind residents about is general home security.

Although we live and work in a very safe area (Romney Marsh) we should not become complacent when it comes to our homes, even if you are in, please keep your front and back doors and external gates to your driveway/gardens locked and always look through a window or door spy hole to see who is knocking at your door and if you are in any doubt as to the identity of the person, do not open the door to them.

Anyone from a utility company or any company in fact, should have I.D on them to show you but even then, if you are not convinced then don't open the door.

If the person is from a company that you know you have a service with then you can always ring them to confirm that the person at your door is genuine.

As I said, there is no need for concern but please heed my advice regarding home security and please do not speculate about this on social media as that is very unhelpful to all.

There is an ongoing investigation with regards to a few incidents on the above estate and that is why I cannot be more specific I'm afraid.

Me and my colleagues from Lydd will carry out some extra patrols of the area as and when we can.

The purpose of that message was two-fold, firstly to stop rumours which quite often turns factual information into false and alarmist news and secondly to reassure residents that there is no need to be overly concerned about what has taken place, it also acted as a general message regarding home security.

Facebook and other social media forums are great if they’re used positively but as I said above, things can get taken out of context and the next thing you know, the perception is that we’re living in the Wild West!

I have been made aware of a post on a local residents Facebook page over the last couple of days which has prompted me to post another message about concerns.

There is still no need for any resident to be overly concerned for their safety.

I am unable to discuss specifics about any past incidents or individuals involved out of respect for privacy and safety as well as my obligations under legislation. 

We (the police) will always look into any allegation of a criminal offence, suspicious incident or anti-social behaviour (ASB) that gets reported to us, in effect we deal with crime and ASB, but we also assist our partner agencies with some of their core responsibilities, but as we take the lead with crime and ASB, they take the lead within their own remit. Therefore, with regards to the incidents that have taken place we have attended and dealt with any criminal aspect and assisted our partner agency with regards to other issues. My department, the Community Safety Unit (CSU) is in regular contact with these other agencies and my colleague on the Marsh (PC James Hockless) and I are updated frequently with developments.

There is nothing further that I can say at this stage apart from, and this is again general information that is for everyone on the Marsh and beyond, if a crime is in progress, then ring 999, if it is a crime where the danger to people, animals and property has ceased then please report via the Kent Police website online reporting tool or ring 101. If it is a suspicious incident that you feel that we need to know about or any type of ASB, please report this online/101 unless the suspicious incident or ASB is in progress.

Thank you.

Steve.