|
Dear residents of Birchington and Westgate on Sea, Please find a summary of updates below regarding each ward. As always if you would like to discuss any specific incidents, or have any crime and anti-social behaviour concerns, then please contact me. Westgate on Sea: I have been contacted by a retail premises on St. Mildred's Road reporting two shoplifting offences by the same suspect. CCTV enquiries and some old fashioned digging has yielded a name of the suspect. This investigation will now be allocated to our Victim Based Crime Team for progression with a view to prosecution. I am aware of reports of nuisance vehicles travelling along the promenade between St. Mildred's Bay and West Bay, encountering them myself before they made off on the evening of Wednesday 19th August 2026. I will be exploring ways with other departments that we can tackle this issue whilst managing the safety of members of the public. Kent Police have zero tolerance for this conduct which jeopardises the safety of people walking along the coast wall. I will be hosting a Ward Surgery on Friday 28th August 2026 at 11:00 hours at Westgate Town Council offices. This is an open session which can be attended by any members of the public without appointment. Birchington: Following a joint investigation with Thanet District Council, a resident in Holton Close, has been issued with a Community Protection Warning. This was as a result of complaints about noise nuisance, anti-social behaviour, and disorder within the address. The warning is valid for six months, with strict conditions on the occupant to prevent further incidents. Thank you to the residents who completed the Residential Perception Surveys and gave detailed accounts with their experiences. An individual was arrested on Station Road on Thursday 20th August 2026 by our Neighbourhood Task Force for Public Order offences and Assault. This individual has only recently arrived in Birchington and has been the source of several complaints to me already. He is subject to a Community Protection Warning and I have proposed that this now be escalated to a Community Protection Notice following his arrest today. This would include a power of arrest and strict conditions to manage his behaviour going forward. On the evening of Wednesday 19th August 2026 I was able to commit several hours patrolling Minnis Bay following intelligence about a proposed car meet. I am well aware of complaints of nuisance vehicles in this area, so being able to invest several hours to high visibility policing in the area was fantastic. Needless to say our marked police vehicle was a strong deterrence and no issues were observed all evening. General: I have had reports from retail premises about people trying to use counterfeit currency to purchase goods. Thankfully checks by the staff identified it was counterfeit before the sale was completed, but this is a reminder to check notes when used as payment. Across Thanet we have had a series of rogue traders offering to complete building and gardening works. These are often cold callers who claim that they have seen work that needs to be completed on an address. Please be diligent of anyone offering to complete work for you without having first been contacted, obtain quotes from several sources, use trusted traders, and always ask for a comprehensive written break down of costs before committing to a project. With kindest regards PC Steven England | 
