Marshals redeployed over half term

Swale Borough Council will be deploying Safer Streets Marshals over the October half term holiday.

The uniformed marshals will be patrolling Sheerness and Sittingbourne High Streets during the afternoons and into the evenings, to help deter crime and to intervene when they witness antisocial behaviour.

For the first time there will be two marshals in each town centre, increasing their reach and impact, who will be working to help keep the town centres safe.

The initiative is part of the council’s Safer Streets campaign, which aims to tackle the higher levels of antisocial behaviour and reduce violence against women and girls in the town centres.

The marshals wear body cameras and have radios connected through Swale Link to the council’s CCTV centre and work closely with the police.

The initiative has led to the successful prevention of anti-social behaviour, such as being able to track down people suspected of vandalising the toilets at Beachfields and administering lifesaving first aid.

In addition to the street marshals, the council’s Safer Streets project is also implementing other measures to help people feel safe in the towns, such as:

• installing additional CCTV cameras in both Sheerness and Sittingbourne
• improving lighting in open spaces such as the four extra solar lights in the Beachfields play area
• funding youth programmes
• offering free active bystander training
• trimming down overgrown trees to make spaces lighter and more open
• educational workshops at a local secondary school focusing on subjects such as anti-social behaviour, drugs, alcohol, knife crime and vaping
• working in partnership with Sheppey Matters to help fund Community engagement events

The campaign is being funded by the Government’s Safer Streets Fund, which the council successfully bid for by working with the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner through the Community Safety Partnership.

Richard Palmer, chair of the Community and Leisure Committee, said:

“The police are working hard to tackle the many issues in our town centres - but they can’t be everywhere, all the time, so having these marshals as additional eyes, ears and feet on the ground has been very impactful.

“We have heard positive feedback from the public and the police, who have told us how beneficial these marshals have been; they are a visible deterrent and a trained presence that can intervene when they witness harmful situations.

“We have arranged for the marshals to patrol the high streets for the next three holiday periods as that is a time we witness an increase in antisocial behaviour.”

Elliott Jayes, vice chair of the Community and Leisure Committee, said:

“Deploying these marshals is a way for us to use the safer streets funding to actively fight crime in our town centres, but it is the additional initiatives which we believe will have a lasting impact.

“We have funded important youth provision, education programmes and community training to help our communities become a safer place, where you can feel a sense of pride in where you live.

“Thank you to everyone who has helped make this project happen, the charities we’ve partnered with, our officers and the police, together we are making a positive impact.”

The marshals will also be deployed over the Christmas period and during the February school holidays.

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