Washford

Your Neighbourhood Policing Team is made up of Kent Police beat officers who are dedicated to keeping your community safe. They focus on preventing crime and antisocial behaviour, responding to local concerns, and building strong relationships with residents, community groups and local businesses.

Our officers will:

patrol to deter crime and reassure the public
hold regular engagement activities in the area, including attending community meetings to share advice and listen to concerns
work with partner agencies including councils, schools, charities, and local groups
tackle issues like antisocial behaviour, repeat offending, and vulnerability
build trust by being visible, approachable, and responsive

Neighbourhood policing is a key part of Kent Police’s commitment to being community-focused, visible, and responsive.

Report crime

Please do not contact neighbourhood officers to report crime.

If it's not an emergency, the easiest way to contact us is online. Your report will be sent direct to our control room where it will be reviewed by the same team who answer our calls.

in an emergency, call 999
call 101 for non-emergency enquiries

Matt Potticary

Police Constable

Local Priority Issues

Priority	Action taken
E-scooters. Issued 15 October 2025	Many e‑scooters have been taken away because they were being used without insurance or were involved in traffic offences. Some riders have also been given advice to help them understand the rules. Thanks to this work, there are now fewer e‑scooters being used illegally, especially in the town centre. We have more action days planned to deal with unsafe or illegal e‑scooter use. A short video was shared across the Kent Police social media channels and by the Home Office to explain the enforcement work taking place locally. We are also working with Ashford Borough Council to update the local Public Spaces Protection Order. This is a set of rules that helps deal with antisocial behaviour in public places. The update would allow the rules to cover e‑scooters and make it clear what action can be taken if they are used illegally in the area. Actioned 15 January 2026
Nuisance bikes. Issued 15 October 2025	Officers have stopped a bike that had been riding on pavements and putting pedestrians at risk. A tactical stop was carried out and the rider was arrested for several traffic offences. We have also seized a number of other bikes linked to different traffic offences. Actioned 15 January 2026
Drug dealing. Issued 15 October 2025	Our officers have gathered valuable information from local residents. This allowed us to secure a warrant for a property, where we found and removed more than 90 cannabis plants. Since then, we have carried out further warrants and found several smaller cannabis grows. In the last three months, officers have also stopped and searched a number of people. One of these searches led to us breaking up a drugs line. Two people have now been taken into custody. Actioned 15 January 2026

Priority

Action taken

E-scooters.

Issued 15 October 2025

Many e‑scooters have been taken away because they were being used without insurance or were involved in traffic offences. Some riders have also been given advice to help them understand the rules. Thanks to this work, there are now fewer e‑scooters being used illegally, especially in the town centre.

We have more action days planned to deal with unsafe or illegal e‑scooter use. A short video was shared across the Kent Police social media channels and by the Home Office to explain the enforcement work taking place locally.

We are also working with Ashford Borough Council to update the local Public Spaces Protection Order. This is a set of rules that helps deal with antisocial behaviour in public places. The update would allow the rules to cover e‑scooters and make it clear what action can be taken if they are used illegally in the area.

Actioned 15 January 2026

Nuisance bikes.

Issued 15 October 2025

Officers have stopped a bike that had been riding on pavements and putting pedestrians at risk. A tactical stop was carried out and the rider was arrested for several traffic offences.

We have also seized a number of other bikes linked to different traffic offences.

Actioned 15 January 2026

Drug dealing.

Issued 15 October 2025

Our officers have gathered valuable information from local residents. This allowed us to secure a warrant for a property, where we found and removed more than 90 cannabis plants.

Since then, we have carried out further warrants and found several smaller cannabis grows.

In the last three months, officers have also stopped and searched a number of people. One of these searches led to us breaking up a drugs line. Two people have now been taken into custody.

Actioned 15 January 2026

What members in Washford are saying are the issues in the area:

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