Audit carried out by North Kent Police analyst on behalf of Dartford Community Safety Partnership

Authorising Officer: Supt 9358 Martin HEWITT Author: PSE 54790 Emma COLLINS Date: 15/02/05 Information used in this document is sourced from KCC Common Data Sets 2001-2004, 2001 Census, Kent Police Crime and Incident Data, Dartford CSP Data, British Crime Survey, NACRO Crime and Disorder Consultation 2003, Kent DAAT Dartford Drug Audit 2004. All Ordnance Survey Maps are reproduced with permission on behalf of Her Majesty's Stationary Office. Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes crown copyright, and may lead to prosecution. (KPA PA01024C 2004)

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Dartford Community Safety Partnership (CSP)

Crime and Disorder Audit 2004

Contents

1. Introduction Page 3 2. Methodology Page 3

3. Overview of Dartford CSP Page 4

Profile of Dartford Borough Page 5

4. Findings and Recommendations Page 7

5. Review of Partnership Work Page 9

6. Crime and Disorder Analysis Page 11

I. All Crime Page 11 II. Quality of Life Issues Page 12

• Anti-social behaviour Page 12 • Hoax Calls/Deliberate Fires Page 13 • Nuisance vehicles Page 15 • Traveller Sites Page 16

III. Crimes Against Property Page 17

• Criminal Damage Page 17 • Burglary Page 20 • Vehicle Crime Page 24

IV. Personal Crime Page 29

• Older People Page 29 • Young People Page 30 • Violence Page 34 • Racial/Hate Crime Page 38

V. Drugs and Alcohol Page 39

VI. Fear of Crime/Public Reassurance Page 43

7. Conclusion Page 46

8. Appendices Page 47

• Current Structure of CSP Page 47 • North Kent Crime Figures Page 47 • Cost of Crime Page 48 • Locations of Pubs and Clubs Page 49 • Kent Ambulance Calls 2001-2003 Page 50 • Ages of Offenders and Victims of Crime Page 52 • Crime Experienced by Older People Page 53 • Ages of Offenders and Victims of Violence Page 54

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Introduction Community Safety Strategies are a requirement of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and as such are structured to enable the achievement of The Community Safety Partnerships principle aims over a three-year term. Part of the process, which is enshrined by law and shaped by guidance from The Home Office, involves conducting an Audit. The analysis within the Audit informs an early declaration of local priorities and a draft statement of aims. The material provides the foundation for consultation, and the material is fashioned so as to give clear direction to planners on the work of setting objectives and targets. This Audit has been undertaken to provide partners with up to date information on which to determine priorities for the 2005 Community Safety Plan. The Crime and Disorder Audit is about understanding what is happening in the Partnership area and using that information effectively to help and promote safe and healthy communities.

Methodology The main source of statistical data for the Audit has been Kent Police crime figures, which include reported crime within the Borough with details of offence and location. Crime and Disorder data will be analysed to identify trends, frequency of occurrences, predictions, profile offenders including prolific offenders and young offenders, the cost of crime and geographical spread (Hotspots). Hotspot maps show areas, shaded in red where incidents are most densely clustered, through to green for the least clustered. An area on the map with no colour means no incidents occurred. Hotspots are only a relative measure of incident levels, and can be generated from relatively few incidents. Hotspot maps are best looked at in conjunction with the actual levels of crime and disorder. They are good for identifying areas that are suffering from specific problems, and tracking how levels of crime shift over time. Partners have also supplied data for the Audit, in some cases via the online CADDIE system. This is a KCC website which is accessible to the public, but also has secure log-ins for Partners. The website can currently be used to look at crime and disorder data at a ward level. The main contributors to the Kent CADDIE system at present are Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue and Kent Ambulance Service, but in future it is hoped that partners will be submitting more and more data. Data not currently held on CADDIE, such as environmental health and housing data, has also been supplied, although there is a lack of uniformity in what data the different Partners collect, and how it is collected and collated. Other sources of information have included local residents, voluntary organisations, members of the business community, and Borough and Parish Councils. The consultation process has endeavoured to seek the views of a wide range of people, but has also targeted the needs of specific areas and groups of the community where crime and disorder concerns are most prevalent. Another source of information has been The British Crime Survey (BCS), which measures the amount of crime in England and Wales by asking people about crimes they have experienced in the last year. The BCS includes crimes that are not reported to the Police, so it is an important alternative to Police records. Victims do not report crime for various reasons. Without the BCS the government would have no information on these unreported crimes. The BCS also looks at people’s attitudes to crime, such as how much they fear crime and what measures they take to avoid it. Information from The National Census 2001 and other data from the National Statistics website have been used for generic data relating to population, employment and area statistics, and the Kent County Council Common Data Sets 2001-2004 have also been used.

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Overview of Dartford CSP Dartford Community Safety Partnership comprises of the following: Kent Police: North Kent Police Kent Police Authority Dartford Borough Council Kent County Council: Social Services Education Youth and Community Youth Offending Service Kent Fire and Rescue Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Primary Care Trust The Kent Probation Service (See Appendix 1 for the current Structure of the Partnership) The aims and objectives from the 2004 Community Safety Action Plan are as follows: Aim 1: Anti-Social Behaviour

• Reduce anti-social behaviour and nuisance • Reduce effects of alcohol misuse and underage drinking • Reduce vehicle abandonment and vehicle fires

Aim2: Crimes Against Property

• Reduce and prevent criminal damage and graffiti • Reduce and prevent burglary from people’s homes • Improve security for vulnerable individuals • Improve security by designing out crime • Reduce vehicle crime • Reduce damage to public land

Aim 3: Drugs and Crime

• Prevention through education and rehabilitation • Enforcement and surveillance

Aim 4: Young People

• Reduce the number of young people who are victims of crime • Support programmes and diversionary tactics • Intervene to prevent youth offending

Aim 5: Geographical Focus Areas

• Temple Hill • Town Centre • Stone • Tree Estate

Aim 6: Reduction of Personal Crime and Supporting Victims

• Children and families • Domestic violence • Vulnerable adults

Aim 7: Improving Partnership Working and Strategy Development

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Profile of the Borough of Dartford

Map1: Borough of Dartford Dartford is situated on land bordering the lower reaches of the Thames, and covers an area of 76 square kilometres. Dartford is within close distance to London; The Metropolitan Police are the neighbouring Police Force. Dartford is within the North Area of Kent Police. Its proximity to both London and Essex cause it to be an area ripe for development, but also provides a route in and out of a prosperous county for the criminal fraternity to exploit. The population of Dartford at the 2001 Census was 85911, of which 49% were male and 51% female. The borough has an unemployment rate of 2.5%, compared to 3.1% for the country.1. The population is made up of 35240 households, and 69% of these households are owner occupied, compared with 74% in the South East as a whole 1. Dartford, along with its neighbouring Borough of Gravesham, form the part of Kent known as the Thames Gateway, an area which has been designated by the European Union as a priority region for regeneration to housing, businesses and amenities. The aim of the programme is to help the target areas achieve social inclusion in line with the rest of the Thames Gateway area and to share in the prosperity of the South East of England. Over £18.5 million of European and local funding will be invested in the area over 6 years. Bluewater Shopping Centre, the largest in the UK with over 330 shops and restaurants, opened in 1999 and is situated in the Stone Ward of the Borough. The local employment prospects created by the centre are vast; the construction of the centre alone created around 6500 jobs, and now the centre employs over 7000 people. The centre attracts around 27 million visitors per year, and has free parking space for 13000 cars. Over £30 million has been spent on developing the road networks around the centre, and there are further plans by KCC to improve the network of roads throughout the whole of the Kent Thameside regeneration area. Bluewater is only 4km from the site of the planned Ebbsfleet Station on the new high-speed rail link between London and the Channel Tunnel, so this will see a further growth of visitors to the area in 2006/7 when the station opens. There are plans for a local “Fast Track” system to connect Bluewater with local towns and Ebbsfleet station. 3000 news homes are planned in the surrounding area, sites for which in Dartford Borough include the old Swanscombe

cement works (Swanscombe Peninsula), and North Dartford. The Home Office estimate 20000 new jobs will be created as direct results of Ebbsfleet Station and the Thameside development. Dartford Town has a lively night-time economy, with around 20 pubs and clubs in the town centre. This brings a lot of revenue into Dartford, which is particularly needed now as local businesses find it hard to compete with Bluewater, but also brings the crime and disorder problems associated with late night drinking in town centres, such as violence and criminal damage, as well as some drug dealing and abuse. The recent new retail developments such as Prospect Place, and the planned Tesco Superstore should bring a much-needed boost to the Town Centre, in terms of revenue and visitor levels. The area offers many opportunities for new employment; but is also struggling with the transition from an old industrial economy to one that better reflects the present day, particularly its position in relation to London, and as a gateway to Europe. The South East of England is one of the most affluent regions of Europe, with 40% of its areas being within the least deprived in the country, and yet Kent has pockets of high social deprivation. These communities also experience employment and income problems. In 2000 Dartford ranked 206 out of 354 for average ward deprivation, where a ranking of 1 would be the most deprived and 354 the least2.. In 2004 however, this ranking has slipped to 168 3. Recent research highlights the nature and extent of the problems faced by communities in the most deprived wards: Long-term and youth unemployment rates are over 20% and a relatively high proportion (some 8%) of the population is on income support; Educational attainment rates are generally poor with a relatively high proportion of the population having low literacy and numeracy skills (estimated at 15% and 22% respectively). 28% of Dartford residents had no qualifications at all.1. Crime, housing, health, quality of the environment and other indicators also point to similar levels of disadvantage.

1. Data from Nationa1 Census 2001 2. Indices of Deprivation 2000. 3. Indices of Deprivation 2004

Dartford Borough Wards Map 2: D

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artford Borough Wards 2004

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Findings and Recommendations Geographical Focus Areas

• Temple Hill to become a Consolidation Area. • Tree Estate exit strategy to be completed, thus taking Tree Estate out of

Geographical Focus Areas. • Swanscombe/Greenhithe to become a Focus Area. • Stone to remain a Focus Area. • Town Centre to remain a Focus Area. • Dartford Priority Communities (as identified by Indices of Deprivation):

• Swanscombe and Knockhall (Swanscombe ward and Knockhall polling district in Greenhithe ward, excluding any new development in Eastern Quarry)

• Temple Hill (Joyce Green ward and part of Littlebrook ward) • Tree Estate (part of Princes ward west of Hawley Road and north of

Oakfield Lane) • St. John’s polling district in Stone ward (including the areas around

Alamein Gardens, Hillhouse Road and St John’s Road) • The Green Street Green, Ladywood and Lane End polling districts in the

parish of Darenth (part of Bean and Darenth ward) • Dartford Town Centre (the Priory polling district in Town ward)

Tasking Groups

• Criminal Damage to possibly remain as the focus of a Tasking Group, or become linked in with Anti-Social Behaviour Tasking Group, as Criminal Damage does form part of the definition of ASB.

• A Children and Young People Tasking Group could be set up, with the focus on diversionary activities for all youth, not just those on the ASB Group or those known by Kent Police. Community youth work to be the focus, in order to prevent young people getting involved in crime and drugs. Young people often complain that there is nothing to do, so this Tasking Group could, in consultation with young people and children in Dartford (possibly through schools, the Youth Council and local youth clubs) provide more activities and groups for children and young people in the Borough.

• Community Against Drugs Tasking Group to remain, for while drug offences are low, drug related offences and ASB do have an impact on the community as a whole.

Future Projects

• Criminal Damage - Kent Police are currently working on a graffiti tag database, in partnership with local schools. Youth shelters or other youth projects in Stone and Swanscombe & Greenhithe to reduce boredom among youths, and stop them committing damage.

• Burglary Other - Crime prevention advice to be given out to residents, by either local beat officers or PCSO’s. Residents to be advised to check their sheds regularly throughout winter, and shed alarms could be given out, as well as free property marking.

• Anti-Social Behaviour - PCSOS, and new Kent Police RBO when in post can deal with recent fighting and ASB problems in Greenhithe and Swanscombe.

• Swanscombe renewal strategy, including a ‘One Stop Shop’ for residents, which may house Council representatives, a Kent Police Desk, and could provide a base for the PCSO’s.

• Town Centre – ‘Pubsafe’ radio scheme, and possible Alcohol Control Zone. A safe night bus scheme to get late night drinkers and clubbers home as safely and quickly as possible at the end of the night.

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Young People • Analysis to be done by all Partner agencies into the causal factors of youth offending,

and data to be shared and acted on through the different Tasking Groups. • More Alternative Curriculum projects, including practical/vocational studies and life

skills. This could be aimed at youths who have been excluded, and also at youths who have been in trouble but have not yet been excluded, in order to try and keep them at school and out of trouble.

• More support and education for parents of all ages and backgrounds. Identified Prolific and Priority Offender (IPPO) Strategy

• PPO’s to be identified by Kent Police, in order to use Partnership working to tackle their offending.

• Lead agencies to have ownership over given IPPO’s. • Prevent and Deter • Catch and Convict } Three stages of IPPO Strategy to be developed. • Resettle and Rehabilitate

Partnership Working/Data Sharing

• “Careworks” – New Youth Offending Service system of recording and sharing data. Will be rolling out in November 2004.

• IPPO Strategy. • New ways of reaching the public are needed, in order to change public perception of

the work of Partnership agencies. Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003

• Success with ASBO’s and convictions for breaches of ASBO’s must continue. Offenders have to see that if ASBO conditions are breached, they will face custodial sentences.

• Further work to be done in the area of publicising ASBO’s when they are granted; pictures in local papers, leaflets drops and posters in the offender’s local area with their picture and the conditions of their ASBO.

• Dispersal Areas, if properly Policed, can be very successful in tackling ASB, and they give a positive message to the public. More Dispersal Areas could be considered if particular places around Dartford are experiencing high levels of nuisance youths and ASB.

• Alcohol control zones (Designated Public Place Orders or DPPO’s), which give Police and PCSO’s new powers to curb street drinking to be considered for Town Centre and Swansombe & Greenhithe

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Review of Partnership Work: 2001 to present The first Crime and Disorder Audit was carried out in 1998, and a subsequent Audit three years later in 2001.The Community Safety Partnership has brought about increased communication between the different agencies. Through the Partnership community safety issues highlighted by the local community can be dealt with through a policy of shared responsibility. This multi-agency approach has the advantages of combining local knowledge to pinpoint where the problems are, and the pooling of resources to respond to them in an effective way. The last Audit identified four Geographical Focus Areas (Temple Hill, Stone, Town Centre, and Tree Estate), and three Thematic Focus Areas (Anti-social Behaviour, Drugs and Criminal Damage). Successes in these areas over the last three years have included the Temple Hill “Healthy Living Project”, which was a Partnership scheme involving Temple Hill Community Forum, the Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Primary Care Trust, Kent County Council Youth and Community and Social Services, and the environmental group Groundwork. Some examples of work carried out as part of the project include a purpose built steel youth shelter, a luncheon club for elderly residents, ‘Sure Start’ and ‘Dad4Dads’ schemes. There are plans for the new Healthy Living Centre; to include an area for worship, a crèche, a play area and health visitor clinic. It is also proposed that the Police Resident Beat Officer (RBO) will hold regular surgeries here. This Centre is due to open October 2004. Another successful joint operation, this time between Dartford Borough Council and Kent Police, was the Temple Hill Dispersal area, which was implemented in line with 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour legislation. As a result of analysis of crime and disorder in Dartford, carried out by Kent Police, an area around Temple Hill Square was designated as a Dispersal Area – where Police Officers had powers to disperse groups where their presence or behaviour has, or is likely to, cause harassment, alarm or distress to the public. Any individual or group asked to leave the area can be excluded for up to 24 hours, or if they live within the boundary, can be told not to reform as a group within 24 hours. The area was designated for a period of 1 month - 21st February–20th March 2004. The results of the Dispersal area are as follows: Temple Hill Control period (2003) Dispersal Period Youths Dispersed Drug offences, damage & violence

27 7

All Other Crime 13 14

21st Feb – 4 24th Feb – 2 1st Mar - 3

The RBO for Temple Hill found that youths were running and scattering whenever he approached, and so the level of youths being dispersed was low. This does not mean the dispersal area was not a success, as the levels of nuisance youth crime stayed low too. It appears that, groups of youths were so busy trying to avoid being spoken to and dispersed by the RBO, that they didn’t have time to commit crime. Recently, with the help of the CSP, residents of Stone have set up a Residents Association, so that now there is an active group that can get involved and take projects on themselves. Specific goals have been outlined for the group, which includes setting up Neighbourhood Watch and more youth activities in the area. More successes in the Stone area should be seen in the next three years as a result of this Association being set up.

Successes have been seen in Dartford Town Centre, which has won a “Safe Shopping” Award due to the ‘ShopSafe’ Radio network, which links shops, shop Security and Town Beat Officers. In the future a scheme using the principles of the ‘ShopSafe’ radio linking pubs, clubs, security and Beat Officers may be rolled out in the Town Centre, with the view to making the night-time economy safer.

The “TeamZone” youth project in Tree Estate was another good example of successful Partnership work in the Focus Areas. (See Personal Crime: Young People)

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The 2001 Audit outlined a plan for reducing crime by reducing criminality, focussing on:

• Drug driven criminals

• Prison releases of prolific offenders

• Criminality within Geographical Focus Areas

• Illicit markets for stolen property and illegal goods

• Persistent young offenders

• Problem families

• Alcohol related criminality

• Offenders on bail with a high risk of offending

• Offenders with a mental disorder

Successful work in these areas includes the multi-agency prison release scheme for persistent or prolific offenders, which seeks to integrate those being released from prison back into society, helping them arrange accommodation, employment or benefits, and also keeping regular assessment appointments and possible curfews, to reduce re-offending. The Dartford anti-social behaviour group has a co-ordinator to deal with problem families and Anti-Social behaviour in adults, working with Housing, Education, Social Services and Kent Police. Drug-driven criminality has been targeted by Kent Police and Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Primary Care Trust, by getting adult persistent drug-driven offenders into treatment programmes, rather than convictions, and setting up a youth Drug Intervention and Support Programme (DISP), in order to stop drug abuse in young people before they move onto drug related criminality.

The Partnership has supported other projects, such as Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s), which adopt a longer-term approach to crime and disorder issues. PCSOs work alongside the Police in a support role. They patrol their local area, providing assistance to the public and dealing with incidents of nuisance and anti-social behaviour that don’t require full Police powers. PCSOs also have the power to issue non-endorsable fixed penalty notices to offenders. Their work may also include assisting at large public gatherings, such as sports events and public demonstrations. The increased uniformed presence PCSOs provide is aimed at improving public confidence and deterring anti-social behaviour and other criminal activity. By dealing with minor incidents PCSOs enable Police to make more effective use of their time. PCSOs work under the supervision of the community beat sergeant in their area. There are currently 7 PCSO’s actively working in Dartford Borough; 1 rural PCSO to cover Longfield, New Barn, Southfleet, Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley, 2 Town Centre Officers who work with the Town Centre RBO, 2 Officers working in partnership to cover Swanscombe and Greenhithe, and 2 Officers in partnership to cover Wilmington and Joydens Wood. PCSO’s have been the driving force behind successful projects including “Kids Safe Shop” in the Town Centre, and personal safety and home security campaigns around Wilmington and Joydens Wood.

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Crime and Disorder Analysis

All Crime The chart below shows levels of crime for whole Borough of Dartford, broken down into Kent Police Crime Categories, for the financial years from 2001-2004. (See Appendix 2 for North Kent Crime Figures) Chart 1. Levels of Crime in Dartford While there has been a 15.51% rise in all crime in Dartford since 2001, there have been successful decreases in residential burglary and vehicle crime since the last Audit. These crime types have been the active focus of Kent Police for the last few years, and subsequently have seen a drop in figures. This has been achieved through various methods and operations, including targeting known offenders, Police presence and stop checks in hotspots for these crimes and, in conjunction with the Partnership, offering Crime Prevention advice and guidance, and increasing CCTV monitoring in hotspot areas. These figures show Dartford has performed better than North Kent as a whole, which show only a 7% drop in vehicle crime 2001-2004, and 13% increase in burglary dwelling. Crimes such as sexual and drugs offences have had large percentage increases in the last three years, but the actual numbers of offences are so small – a 46% increase actually equates to 12 more crimes – that these crimes do not have a huge impact on the figures of all crime in the Borough. This does not mean that these crime types do not have an impact on crime and disorder in other ways, particularly drugs, because of the levels of other crimes linked with drug abuse, such as theft and burglary committed by addicts. Violence against the person has seen the largest increase over the three-year period, increasing by 39% on 2001 in 2003, and then by a further 23.75% by 2003. There were 500 more offences in financial year 2003-2004 than in 2001-2002. Violent crime is now part of the Police Control Strategy, as violence has risen 75% over the whole of North Kent. Criminal damage has shown an increase in line with levels for the whole of North Kent. Damage is a crime type that has shown a sharp increase in recent years all over England, and Dartford is no exception – 2003 figures were 35.5% up on the previous year, and 26% up on the year of the last Audit. The cost of all crime in 2003, as recorded by Kent Police in crime reports where the value of property either damaged and/or stolen, is given as an estimate of around £7721000. This shows a decrease of 15.5% from 2001, which had an estimated cost of crime set at £9148000. (See Appendix 3 for Cost of Crime Figures) * Vehicle crime includes Theft of Motor Vehicle, Theft From Motor Vehicle and Vehicle Interference

Crime Category 2001-2002

2002-2003

% Increase/ Decrease from 2001

2003-2004

% Increase/ Decrease from 2001

% Increase/ Decrease from 2002

VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PERSON 708 985 39.12% 1219 72.17%

23.76%

SEXUAL 26 34 30.76% 38 46.15% 11.76%

ROBBERY 113 112 0.88% 117 3.54% 4.46%

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY 433 468 8.08% 378 12.70%

19.23%

BURGLARY OTHER 659 664 0.76% 675 2.43% 1.66%

VEHICLE CRIME * 2193 1996 8.98% 1880 14.27% 5.81%

THEFT 2054 2166 5.45% 2480 20.74% 14.49%

FRAUD AND FORGERY 567 631 11.28% 757 33.51%

19.96%

CRIMINAL DAMAGE 2183 2033 6.87% 2755 26.20% 35.51%

DRUGS 87 116 33.33% 106 21.84% 8.62%

OTHER 72 81 12.50% 101 40.28% 24.69%

Total 9095 9286 2.10% 10506 15.51% 13.14%

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Quality of Life Issues Anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behaviour is an issue that is key to most communities, and yet proves hard to define and tackle. The Home Office definition of anti-social behaviour, which came after consultation with the public nationwide on what they perceive as anti-social, has outlined thirteen different factors, which contribute to anti-social behaviour (ASB). Some are criminal in nature, some affect the quality of life for people living in close proximity to those committing anti-social acts, and some can affect the wider community. These are as follows:

Categories of Anti-Social Behaviour Criminal Damage & Vandalism

Intimidating gatherings of young people in public places/rowdy behaviour

Intimidation/Harassment Nuisance from vehicles (including parking,

abandonment and riding on footpaths) Litter/Rubbish/Fly tipping

Verbal abuse Noise

Unkempt Gardens (e.g. those which attract dumping of goods, creating ‘eyesores’)

Street drinking/aggressive begging Animal related problems

Using & selling drugs in the street Hoax Calls

Prostitution/Kerb Crawling/Sexual Acts Any one of these categories listed is classed as anti-social, but different areas have different priorities when it comes to dealing with ASB. The Borough of Dartford does not have a problem with street prostitution or aggressive begging, so the Dartford CSP focuses more on ASB such as damage and vandalism, intimidating young people, nuisance vehicles and rubbish dumping. While these categories are a good way to define ASB, it can be more generally thought of as any behaviour that “is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to a member of the community”. One way of tackling ASB is through the anti-social behaviour group. The Dartford anti-social behaviour group is supported by the Community Safety Partnership, and is made up of representatives from housing (both Council and social landlords), Youth Offending Services, Youth and Community, Education and Welfare, Social Services, Kent Police and an ASB Coordinator. It is their responsibility to nominate individuals, through a combination of reports to Police, Education or Housing about behaviour, or level of offences committed. These individuals will then be put to the group to see if they warrant being monitored. The group will then meet to discuss specific cases. For low-level anti-social behaviour, letters are sent (usually to parents, as many, but not all individuals are under 18), and then if the behaviour continues the ASB Coordinator will do a home visit. If the ASB becomes more serious, or the individual does not show any signs of improving their behaviour, then the group will look to getting them to sign up to an Acceptable Behaviour Agreement (ABA). An ABA is not a legally binding document but is given to the individual as a set of rules to adhere to, which if broken may then lead to the full anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) process being put into place. An ASBO is a civil order, not a criminal penalty, and they are not intended to punish the offender. They can be made against any one over the age of 10, and are viewed as the last resort after all other action has been taken. ASBO’s can prevent the individual from committing behaviour that may cause harassment, alarm or distress, or keep them out of particular areas. They are quite flexible as specific terms and types of behaviour can be tailored to suit the offending of the individual. For example, if the subject of the ASBO was a prolific graffiti offender, then terms of the ASBO may include “not to be in possession of spray paint, marker pens, knives or any implement that may be used to commit graffiti”, or if

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an individual has terrorised a town centre, then their conditions might include “not to enter town centre”. A breach of an ASBO is an arrestable offence, and the maximum penalty for a breach is 5 years imprisonment for adults or a 24-month Detention and Training Order (DTO) for juveniles. There are currently 11 individuals being monitored by the Dartford ASB group, and another 5 pending. There are also 3 individuals with an ASBO on them, 2 of which have received DTO’s due to breaches of their ASBO conditions. Areas of Dartford Borough that experience high levels of ASB are Temple Hill, Stone and Town Centre. The anti-social behaviour of youths in the Temple Hill area of Dartford has been an ongoing problem since 2001, with a lot of the same youths still being involved. The incidents include graffiti, harassment of local residents and businesses, fighting in the street, begging and under-age drinking. The problem will continue, because as members of the groups either grow up and stop committing this kind of anti-social behaviour, or alternatively move onto other crime such as burglary or vehicle crime, younger children will replace them within the gang. The longer term legal repercussions of their criminal activities, such as Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, or arrests and convictions, can have a positive impact on the behaviour of individuals, but do not serve to curb the activities of the larger group, and in some cases can elevate the status of members of the group; a conviction giving them a certain kudos within the gang. Stone has seen much the same types of ASB in the past, particularly damage and the harassment of residents committed by a relatively small group of youths, although in recent months this has died down, due to many members of the gang becoming involved in vehicle crime and burglary. ASB in Dartford Town Centre is linked to the nighttime economy, rather than aggressive begging, drugs or prostitution. Whenever large groups of people are all in the town centre late at night after drinking in the various pubs and clubs, it is the perfect environment for fighting, rowdy, noisy or intimidating behaviour, verbal abuse and damage to property. This type of ASB happens in most Town Centres, particularly with the amount of late night venues as in Dartford. Hoax Calls and Deliberate Fires A major type of ASB which can drain resources is hoax calls to the emergency services, as not only is time and money wasted on sending an ambulance, appliance or patrol car to a hoax incident, the operators at the various control centres could be dealing with other serious calls. Kent Fire and Rescue record when and where hoax calls relating to fires and other incidents, and hoax fire alarms, occur. The map below shows Swanscombe to be the clear hotspot for hoax calls, although it is important to view this map in context with the actual figures of hoax calls during the year. Swanscombe was the site of 18 hoax calls for the whole of financial year 2003-2004, Stone experienced 11 and Joyce Green 9. These are figures are low, although Swanscombe clearly stands out as the hotspot. Map 3. Hoax calls to Kent Fire and Rescue hotspots 2003

The most likely reason for Swanscombe, or any area, to have such a high level of hoax calls to Kent Fire and Rescue, when compared to other similar areas, would probably be the actions of one individual with an obsession with either setting fires or fire engines, or both.

Sutton At Hone and Hawley

Joydens Wood

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Levels of arson recorded by Kent Police in Swanscombe were slightly lower than that of Temple Hill, and level with those seen in Stone, and a lot higher than many areas that are comparable in size and number of houses, as while the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Wards cover a large area much of this is taken up by quarries and industrial areas with factories and old cement works. Unfortunately there is little that can be done to catch hoax callers, particularly with pay-as-you-go mobile phones being common among children now, although education within schools by Kent Fire and Rescue and Kent Police can help to keep levels low. Swanscombe does have the highest level of unauthorised school absences in the Borough (see Personal Crime: Young People), which may provide another reason for the high level of hoax calls; boredom of youths “bunking off” school in an area with no Town Centre to visit (such as with from schools in West Hill for example) can lead to hoax calls and criminal damage being committed in the area around the school. In the two year period April 2002 to March 2004 there were 434 deliberate rubbish fires in the Borough of Dartford, and 447 deliberate vehicle fires, recorded by Kent Fire and Rescue. The top six wards for both types of deliberate fires can be broken down as follows. Chart 2 a) and b) Top 6 Wards for Deliberate Fires in Dartford as recorded by Kent Fire and Rescue. Values shown are number of deliberate fires recorded in the ward The hotspot areas for deliberate rubbish fires are Darenth Wood Road (16 rubbish fires in 2 years) in Darenth, The Grove (14 fires) and Craylands Lane Leisure Centre (10) in Swanscombe, Bob Dunn Way (19) and Homebase car park Princes Road (9) in Dartford and London Road (13), Stone. Swanscombe is the hotspot for rubbish fires and hoax calls, which does suggest that there may be one, or a group of individuals who like to set fires and/or make hoax calls. The hotspots for vehicle fires are Cotton Lane in Stone (43 vehicle fires in 2 years), Bob Dunn Way (19 fires), Marsh Street (17) and Dartford Heath (10) in Dartford and Powdermill Lane (16) in Wilmington. The Cotton Lane area around Stone Lodge Farm and Stone House Hospital is an area where young car thieves from the local area like to dump and burn out stolen cars, due to the easy access, close proximity to home and the lack of visibility from the road.

Top 6 Wards for Deliberate Rubbish Fires in Dartford

67

57

52

45

35

33SwanscombePrincesStoneJoyce GreenTownBean & Darenth

Top 6 Wards for Deliberate Vehicle Fires in Dartford

73

4747

44

3724

StoneSwanscombePrincesLittlebrookBean & DarenthTown

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Nuisance vehicles

Nuisance vehicles can include abandoned cars, vehicle fires, nuisance motorbikes, or riding pedal cycles, moped and quad bikes illegally on public land or pavements. Nuisance vehicles can cause danger to the public, as well as creating unsightly environments. Figures obtained from Dartford Highways Department show that in the financial year 2002-2003 there were 544 vehicles reported as being possibly abandoned, and by 2003-2004 this had only risen to 550. Projected figures for 2004-2005, where figures at the first quarter stood at 148 reported, could be as high as 590, although this only shows a growth of 8.5% in 2 years. Hotspots for nuisance motorbikes in Dartford are Temple Hill, Swanscombe and Greenhithe. Temple Hill residents often complain to the local Kent Police Beat Officer, and the Dartford Borough council Estate Rangers, of nuisance motorbikes being ridden around by youths with no crash helmets, no tax or insurance. Recently Swanscombe and Greenhithe have become hotspots for nuisance motorbikes, particularly around the Ingress Park development in Greenhithe and the Heritage Park site in Swanscombe. Local youths will ride off road bikes and mopeds on the pavements and on roads in front of traffic. One of the main problems associated with nuisance motorbikes is the noise; often motorbikes, mopeds and cross bikes can be modified by drilling holes in the exhausts, in order to make even more noise than a normal bike. This can often become a competition of “whose bike can make the most noise”. There are issues as well with danger to residents from bikes being ridden on pavements, through small alleyways and in play areas. There are many problems when it comes to enforcing laws around nuisance motorbikes, as it is easy for an individual riding a motorbike to evade the Police, both on foot and in cars, either by riding away down an alley or quickly being able to cut across country and get through small gaps. Small bikes and mopeds can be lifted over fences or pushed through gaps enabling youths to get into fenced off public land such as parks to ride around, often damaging the land at cost to Dartford Council. Mini-bikes do not yet seem to be very fashionable around Dartford yet, but they are growing in popularity in more affluent areas (in Sevenoaks District for example), due to their cost of around £200-300. Once some of these mini-bikes find their way onto the stolen bike network, and as their popularity grows, there will be more incidents of nuisance mini-bikes. These present an even harder nuisance to Police as, while illegal to ride on public highways, are easy to conceal, and can be carried to make an escape on foot. As well as causing a nuisance, these types of bike are very dangerous, reaching speeds of up to 50mph in some cases, and as with all nuisance motorbikes would be mostly ridden by youths with no helmets.

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Traveller Sites Chart 3 below shows figures provided by the Kent Police Unauthorised Encampments Officer.

Year

Total Unauthorised Encampments

Council Evictions

2002 61 22 2003 21 0 2004 (to May) 13 2

Chart 3. Traveller encampments in Dartford The Landwatch system that North Kent Police run alongside the Ringmaster system4. has been very successful in updating landowners of Traveller movement throughout North Kent. These systems also keep landowners updated in changes in legislation and other useful information that Kent Police wish to be made public regarding Traveller communities. Some of the worst effected areas in Kent Police have dedicated Unauthorised Encampments Officers, who along with Dartford Borough Council and KCC, have signed up to a Memorandum of Understanding with regards to best practice when dealing with unauthorised encampments. Detailed records of unauthorised encampments have been kept by Kent Police since 2002, and as such allow for the long term monitoring of trends in Traveller movement, and how Local Authority and Police are dealing with them. Because of the traditional nature of Gypsy Traveller culture and their historical association with Kent’s hop farming, it is highly likely that the number of illegal encampments will return to higher levels in 2004-2005. Dartford Borough Council now have an Unauthorised Encampments Officer; a new post brought in last year to deal specifically with this problem, who links in directly with Kent Police Officer. There is currently only one Council run encampment in Dartford Borough, at Claywood Lane (shown in the map below as the area shaded in red). There is also a privately owned site; Knoxfield Park in Darenth (shaded in blue). Map 4: Location of Knoxfield Park and Claywood Lane caravan sites 4. Ringmaster is an automated database system currently used by the Kent Police Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator to update nominated members of local Neighbourhood Watch schemes with crime figures, and any other information felt necessary. Ringmaster sends e-mails to every address on the set list, or for members without computers there is a telephone messaging system.

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Crimes against Property Criminal damage

Criminal damage can be defined as damage to any property by any means, and includes graffiti, smashed windows, kicking in fences, scratching cars, pulling up or damaging plants, damage to pavements or public spaces such as parks, and can even include malicious injuring of pets, which are classed as property by law. The cost of property damaged, in the Borough in 2003 through malicious criminal damage, was an estimated £811121. The maps below show the shift in hotspots for criminal damage from 2001 (the year that the last Audit was carried out) to 2003. Map 5a) Criminal Damage hotspots 2001 Map 5b) Criminal Damage hotspots 2003 The maps show how Swanscombe and Greenhithe, which were hotspots back in 2001, have seen a drop in levels of damage, whereas Stone has seen a definite rise, and was a tightly clustered hotspot during 2003. In 2001 Stone accounted for 11% of the total damage in the borough, and by 2003 it accounted for 14%. In comparison, Swanscombe and Greenhithe together accounted for just under 14% in 2001, and only 9.5% in 2003. One possible reason why Swanscombe and Greenhithe have seen a drop in damage may be a ‘youth cycle’ effect, where a group of youths who commit low level damage and ASB in their early teens either grow out of such behaviour or move onto further criminality such as vehicle crime or burglary, and thus cease to commit damage. There may be a gap of a year or so until another similar group forms, possibly from the younger siblings of the old group, and the cycle continues. Another reason for a drop in figures may be simply a lack of reporting. If an area has experienced high levels of damage for an extended period of time, residents may come to feel it is not worth reporting incidents, as there is nothing the Police and the Council can do. In turn the levels of crime go down, and so the Police focus shifts to other areas, hence the problem still occurs. It is not known how much damage in Swanscombe goes unreported, but figures from the British Crime Survey 2002-2003 show that 69% of criminal damage nationally is not reported. Reasons for this lack of reporting included feeling that the matter was too trivial, or wanting to keep the matter private, as well as feeling that nothing will be done. Criminal damage in Stone hit a peak of 550 offences in 2003, compared with 387 in 2002 and 315 in 2001. The damage problems during 2003 were concentrated in a very small area of Stone, (which is a large ward) in and around the area opposite the Stone Lodge Farm site, including Alamein Gardens, Hillhouse Road and Kirby Road. Problems in the Alamein Gardens area have not disappeared, but there has been a noticeable drop in the amount of anti social behaviour in that area since 2003. The low levels of damage occurring around Alamein Gardens now are often as a result of domestic incidents – for example children arguing with parents, or ex-partner disputes. However 2004 has seen the

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Fleet Estate and Bow Arrow Lane areas of Stone increase in criminal damage, although the type of crime is on a much lower level than that experienced in the Alamein Gardens area back in 2003. Typical reports have included graffiti, youths dumping rubbish, youths knocking on doors, throwing snowballs and youths congregating on street corners smoking. Temple Hill, which straddles the border of Littlebrook and Joyce Green wards has stayed a consistent hotspot since 2001. Joyce Green ward has accounted for between 10-11% from 2001-2003, and Littlebrook between 4-5%. Criminal damage around Temple Hill has been in the past predominantly caused by the groups of youths who congregate around the shops in Temple Hill Square. The Square is also used as a site for fights between different gangs of youths; fights that cause great distress to other residents and are also large scale public order offences. Damage is committed in the Square itself, but the youth also move around the surrounding roads such as Hilltop Gardens and St. Edmunds Road, and further out to East Hill and Town Centre, committing damage and intimidating residents and workers. This spread outwards from Temple Hill further into the surrounding areas of Dartford accounts for the widening of the damage hotspots shown in the maps. There were 407 graffiti cleans, which are carried out by Dartford Borough Council, during the financial year 2003-2004, which added up to at least 5779 metres2 being cleaned. The cost of these graffiti cleans came to just under £40’000. Temple Hill was not only a general damage hotspot during 2003; it was particularly a graffiti hotspot. 1235 metres2 of graffiti were cleaned from Temple Hill, which equals around 20% of the total graffiti cleaned for the whole borough. The social demographic of Temple Hill has changed over the last ten years due to younger families being moved in and more houses being built, and there are now a high proportion of teenagers and children. There is a higher than average level of unemployment in the Joyce Green ward; high levels of other vandalism, and racial harassment are prevalent. School performance in the area also falls below the national and county average. A lot of the criminality of these youths is part of a “gang” mentality, possibly as a way for the youth to feel they are part of something as perhaps school and employment are not seen as options for them, and the graffiti tagging is part of this. Around 2001 specific named gangs started to appear, and would mark their territory with graffiti tags, as well as being involved in other criminality such as robbery and theft. These gangs have continued, in various forms, and the practice of graffiti tagging may have contributed to the damage hotspots spreading, as the nature of tagging leads youths to place their tags in territory outside their own.

2001 2003 Chart 4. Levels of damage per ward 2001 and 2003 per ward

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The average level of criminal damage per month during 2001 was 185 incidents, but this had risen to and average of 220 by 2003. Criminal damage in Dartford has shown an increase of 26.2% from 2001 to 2004, compared to the North Kent Police Area, which has shown an increase of 35% (see Appendix 2). The charts below show the seasonal trends for criminal damage in Dartford for the past two years, 2002 and 2003. Chart 5: Levels of Criminal Damage in Dartford by month 2002 and 2003 While the level of damage in 2003 was clearly higher, the seasonal trend follows the same pattern; starting the year at around the monthly average, a small rise around March/April, then a dip in damage during the summer months. Surprisingly, levels of damage traditionally drop during the summer when children are on summer holidays. This may be due to the other activities available during the summer, and the better weather. Also, children from around age 11-12 (sometimes even younger) and teenagers may often be home alone during the day in school holidays while parents are at work, which means that they can stay in doors or the garden with friends, or go out somewhere for the day (to London or the Coast) rather than hanging around outside in residential area as they do in the evenings after school. There is usually a rise in damage levels around September/October when children go back to school, often as youths are travelling the same way to and from school everyday in groups, possibly committing damage as they go, and are also in large groups outside of schools at lunch time. Also, Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night are around this time of year, meaning fireworks go on sale, and the levels of damage associated with “trick or treating” rise, although in most cases the high levels of damage around this time of year are not caused by young children trick or treating, but by older youths using the Halloween period as an excuse to commit excessive damage.

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Burglary

Residential Burglary The maps below show the hotspots for burglaries from dwellings for 2001 and 2003. Map 6 a) Residential burglary hotspots 2001 Map 6b) Residential burglary hotspots 2003 Figures for the whole Borough show drops in levels of residential burglaries or ‘burglary dwellings’ of 12% since the last Audit, and 2003 saw a 19% reduction on the figures of the previous year. Residential burglary has dropped in the rural area of Dartford Borough, particularly in Bean and Darenth which have seen a huge decrease in residential burglaries since 2001, from 28 offences in the year, to only 15 in 2003 – almost a 50% reduction. Longfield and Southfleet too have seen dramatic drops in figures since the last Audit – burglary figures were 28 during 2001, but this had dropped to just 10 for the whole year by 2003. This is less than one residential burglary per month.

Residential burglary has spread across Greenhithe further into Swanscombe and Stone. This may be due to a possible overlap with burglars coming from Northfleet and Gravesend, as well as local burglars. Also, the urban link through Swanscombe and Greenhithe, plus the close proximity to Bluewater and more new high value housing developments such as Ingress Park, mean there is more to draw offenders to the area (from both inside and outside Kent), and it is easier for criminals from the Met area to move quickly to and from Dartford without raising suspicion. Property stolen from burglaries outside the home area of the offender is harder to trace, and burglars can use the established handler networks on their own area, whilst tapping into rich pickings in the Borough next door where the local Police do not know their faces.

Heath ward had become a hotspot in 2003, as shown on chart 5, with 45 offences during the year compared to only 25 in 2001 – this is due to the proximity to London, as Heath ward directly borders the Met Police area of Crayford. Offenders may use the Crayford Road A226 as a quick route in and out of Kent to commit burglaries and then retreat to their home ground. Two known Met burglars were responsible for most of these offences in 2003. Recent housing developments around the area of Dartford Heath and the old Bexley Hospital site have increased not only the number of dwellings in the area, but also the number of desirable, higher value dwellings, thus indicating to potential burglars higher value house contents. The majority of burglaries in this area during 2003 occurred during the day, while the victims were out.

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2001 2003

Chart 6. Residential burglary 2001 and 2003 Per Ward The seasonal trend graphs below show the pattern for residential burglary for the past two years. The 2003 chart shows an average of 30 offences per month, which is roughly one a day. May/June appeared as a peak in both 2002 and 2003, with a drop in July/August. The summer months usually see a rise in burglaries due to the increased insecurity of houses, as more windows and doors are left open. During spring and summer 2003 most burglaries occurred either overnight and in the very early morning, or during the afternoon, and the most common method of entry was through the front or back door. In most cases the locks, windows or doors were forced, but in about 20% the method of entry was an insecurity of either door or window, allowing the burglars to just walk or climb in. Chart 7. Levels of Residential burglary in Dartford By Month 2002 and 2003

Burglary Other

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The maps below show hotspots for burglaries from buildings other than dwellings from 2001 and 2003. This category includes burglary from commercial premises, public buildings such as schools or surgeries and outbuildings like garages and sheds. Map 7a) Burglary other hotspots 2001 Map 7b) Burglary other hotspots 2003 Naturally the hotspot for burglary other is Dartford Town Centre, due to the high proportion of commercial and public properties, although the area of high offences has spread outwards from Town to the surrounding area – up East and West Hills and into Wilmington. The level of burglary other in the Town Centre has dropped by around 35%, from 95 offences in 2001 to just over 60 in 2003, which is an average of only 2 offences per month.

2001 2003

Chart 8: Burglary Other 2001 and 2003 per ward

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Since the beginning of 2004 there has been a noticeable rise in the amount of burglary others occurring in Greenhithe, Swanscombe and neighbouring Stone. The type of premises mainly being targeted are garages and sheds. The offenders will normally take pedal cycles, power tools and sports equipment. In January 2004 there were 19 offences, this figure rose to 34 offences in February. Areas such as Swanscombe and Greenhithe that have large numbers of block garages, which stand away from dwellings, will have more burglary others from garages, as owners cannot ensure the security of their garage all the time, even with padlocks or alarms, as the garages can be broken into late at night or early morning when no-one is around. Around 50-60% of burglary others occur in garages in these areas. Local children, and their associates, who were the cause of anti social behaviour and criminal damage in Stone in 2003, made this area have the highest criminal damage in North Kent. This group’s criminality has now shifted to that of motor vehicle crime and burglary other. Crime figures and intelligence has confirmed this. These individuals are probably responsible for a high percentage of the crime in Stone. Chart 9: Levels of Burglary Other by Month 2002 and 2003 The seasonal trend for burglary other often peaks in summer, as victims of shed breaks may not have been to their sheds all winter, then when the good weather comes and they want to do some gardening, and find that their tools or lawn mower have been stolen.

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Vehicle crime

Theft From Motor Vehicle

The results of the 2001 Census showed that only 68% of residents in Dartford own a car, compared with 81% in the South East. The maps below show the hotspots for Thefts From Motor Vehicles (TFMV), which includes any property within a car, van, motorbike, bus or lorry, and any number plates, tax disks, car accessories or petrol. TFMV accounted for 54% of all vehicle crime in Dartford in 2003. Map 8a) Theft From Motor Vehicle hotspots 2001 Map 8b) Theft From Motor Vehicle hotspots 2003 Audio equipment continues to be the key property type taken from vehicles (18%), however, there has been a notable rise in the theft of number plates. This appears to be a general rise instigated by the commencement of the congestion charge in London. Vehicle accessories (vehicle parts such as spot lights, wheels, badges, parcel shelf, wheel trims etc) are the next most common type of property stolen, as there is a large “boy racer” contingent in Dartford and the surrounding rural areas, meaning there is an open market to sell on the stolen goods, or even that the “boy racers” are stealing the items themselves. Property stolen from vehicles, such as audio equipment, is harder to trace once it goes onto the stolen property market as many people do not mark their property or take serial numbers, and around 90% of property stolen from motor vehicles in Dartford is never recovered. Also, there are many ways of selling on stolen property, either through existing criminal networks, or by advertising to the public in publications like “Loot”, or even on websites such as e-Bay. An estimated £364500 worth of property was stolen from vehicles in Dartford in 2003. One area that has been experiencing TFMV in 2004 is the commuter car park at Bean. It is probable that offenders from Gravesend / Medway may be involved, since they are known to travel all over to commit TFMV in order to steal mainly audio systems. There is nothing to impede the offenders from committing offences due to the car park being hidden from the road, the lack of security and the distance of it from residential property. The car park is just a piece of wasteland without a tarmac surface, with some fencing. The car park is higher than the road with an embankment on the left hand side from where people can walk through a gap in the fencing down to the bus shelter to catch the coaches to London. In addition, there is very little chance of offenders being discovered because they know that the commuters will not be arriving back until late afternoon.

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2001 2003 Chart 10: Theft From Motor Vehicle by ward 2001 and 2003 In 2001 Stone was the hotspot for TFMV, experiencing over 225 offences in one year. By 2003 Stone continues to be the hotspot, but offences have fallen by around 40%, to under 130 offences for the year. Many of the local youths responsible for much of the criminal damage and anti-social behaviour during 2003 are responsible for much of the vehicle crime in Stone, along with older associates who have well-established criminality and links to stolen property markets. While vehicle crime in general has shown a 14% decrease in Dartford since 2001, Swanscombe, Greenhithe and Longfield have all shown increases in TFMV since the last Audit; by 40% (20 offences for the year), 60% (15 offences) and 40% (10 offences) respectively. The only wards where the levels of offences have stayed constant are Brent and West Hill; everywhere else in Dartford has seen decreases in TFMV. Dartford has three “Secure By Design” car parks; Bluewater, Orchard Centre and Priory Centre. These car parks use a combination of CCTV, Automated Number Plate Recognition, secure gates, good lighting and architectural crime prevention methods to keep vehicle, and other crime, as low as possible. Kent Police are looking at working towards bringing other car parks around Dartford up to the “Secure By Design” standard in the next few years, by working with KCC Highways and Dartford Borough Council. Chart 9 shows the seasonal trends for TFMV in Dartford for the past two years, 2002 and 2003. Theft From Motor vehicle is in many cases an opportunistic crime, and so noting seasonal trends may not be as important as the environmental and situational factors that lead an offender to steal from a car such as street lighting, visibility and proximity to houses or businesses.

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Chart 11: Theft From Motor Vehicle by month 2002 and 2003 Offences during the summer months of 2003 dipped as low as 60 per month, a 50% reduction on the previous year and a 40% on 2001, while offences around March/April were at the same level as in 2002. This may indicate that offenders targeting particular property or makes of vehicles, who travel to offend, may have found other areas outside of Dartford with richer pickings during the summer, while the level of opportunistic theft by local offenders stayed the same.

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Theft of Motor Vehicle The maps below show the hotspots for Theft of Motor Vehicles (TOMV), including all cars, vans, motorbikes, coaches, buses and lorries. TOMV accounted for 35% of all vehicle crime in Dartford in 2003. Map 9 a) Theft of Motor vehicle hotspots 2001 Map 9b) Theft of Motor vehicle hotspots 2003 The value of all vehicles stolen from Dartford in 2003 was an estimated £2006800. A notable proportion of vehicles that are stolen from North Kent are recovered in London (about 8%), although while London does impact upon North Kent, the majority of vehicles stolen are recovered in North Kent. 62% of all vehicles stolen will never be recovered, and while this may sound like a lot, TOMV has the highest recovery rate for stolen property out of all crime types, and in 2003 £1243000 worth of vehicles were recovered, however due to the high value nature of vehicle theft, more effort does go into tracing stolen cars, particularly those vehicles worth over £10’000.

2001 2003 Chart 12: Theft of Motor Vehicle by wards 2001 and 2003

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Every ward in Dartford has either stayed constant or dropped in the level of offences since the time of the last Audit, apart from Greenhithe which saw an increase of around 10 offences or 47% on from 2001 to 2003. The charts below show the seasonal trends for TOMV in Dartford for 2002 and 2003. The monthly average level of offences has stayed roughly the same since 2001 (between 55 and 65), although the actual level of offences has dropped by 12%. Seasonal trends may have less impact on levels of offending, as with TFMV. Environmental factors, movement of offenders and fluctuations in stolen property markets will have more of an effect. Chart 13: Theft of Motor Vehicle by month 2002 and 2003 A method of TOMV which Kent Police are seeing more of all over the county is the theft of car keys from houses, either in burglaries or by “fishing” the keys out through the letterbox. This method is used to steal high value cars made in the last 10 years, due to the sophisticated security measures now standard on many cars such as immobilisers and alarms which make modern cars almost impossible to steal without keys. Unsurprisingly, as a result older models of cars tend to be stolen, with a very high proportion of these being Fords (30%) or Vauxhalls (13%). Ford escorts are the key vehicles stolen from North Kent, equalling around 12% of the total. There is no doubt that older model vehicles will continue to be the main type of vehicles stolen in the Area as well as nationally.

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Personal Crime Older People

National employment rates for people in their fifties have risen in the past decade, and it is this age group who are most likely to be providing unpaid care. However, for the very old, there may be barriers that prevent them from participating in a wide variety of activities. These may be financial, or related to health or lack of transport. At present there are more older people aged 70 and 80 than ever before. Dartford has a population of 85’911, of which 19.2% are over 60, and 6.5% are over 75; this means there are approximately 16’300 residents aged over 60 living in Dartford 1. Those aged over 60 accounted for only 12% of all victims of crime, which is not proportionate to their percentage of the population. (See Appendix 6 for ages of victims and offenders) The results from the British Crime Survey found that older people’s risk of suffering from a household or a personal crime is much lower than for the other age groups. Older people are more likely to report violent incidents of crime and much less likely to be repeatedly victimised than the other age groups. Older women are more likely than older men to worry about fear of household or personal crime, often because they live on their own. Those that perceive their health to be bad or very bad also worry more about crime than those that perceive their health to be fair to very good. This may help to explain why older people have disproportionate levels of fear, given their relatively low levels of victimisation, as they also tend to suffer from worse health than the other age groups. The types of crime actually experienced by the elderly vary as they get older. Criminal damage is the crime most reported by the 61-70 age group, with 42% (almost half of all crime), then vehicle crime, which accounted for 22% of reported crime in this age group. Violent crime was experienced by 5% of people who reported crime aged 61-70. Levels of burglary other and residential for this age group were equal at 6% each. Levels of robbery (violent theft) were very low (below 1%), but levels of theft were 18%. The 71-80 age group again experienced higher levels of damage than any other crime type at 32%. Levels of violent crime and robbery were very low at 1% each, but levels of theft had risen to 25% (a quarter of all crimes reported by 71-80 year olds). Residential burglary increases to 14% of reported crime for this age group, but vehicle crime drops to 15% (due to the drop in people aged 71-80 who drive or own cars). Crime reported by the 81+ age group shows a rise in the proportion of people reporting residential burglaries, 39% compared to 14% for 71-80 year olds. Levels of burglary other stay constant at 9%. Obviously the actual numbers of people in this age group experiencing crime is much smaller than those of younger age groups, but violence shows a rise to 3%. Vehicle crime is almost non-existent in this age group due to the small numbers of people still driving in their 80’s and 90’s. Levels of theft have stayed constant at 18%. (See Appendix 7 for charts showing types of crime experienced by older people) Crime experienced by the elderly is clearly at a much lower level than that of other age groups, particularly as older people are more likely to report a crime. However their fear of crime is often greater, due to ill health, living on their own, security issues and perception of crime levels in their area.

Ages of Victims of Crime Dartford 2003

33%

56%

11% 0-29

30-60

61-100

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A NACRO focus-group research project in March 2003 looked at getting qualitative data on crime and disorder around Dartford from different groups, one of these being the elderly. Participants from the elderly focus group discussed their concerns and anxieties about going out after dark, all the participants stated that they would only go out at night if they could afford a taxi to get them home. There was a general consensus that this restricted how often they went out during the evening.

1. Data from National Census 2001 2. See Fear of Crime and Public Reassurance

Young People

25% of the population of Dartford are under 20, and 21.2% are under 16. This means there are approximately 21’500 young people currently living in Dartford 1. The Community Safety Aims and Objectives concerning young people include reducing the number of young people who are victims of crime, and to make young people living in Dartford feel safer. Dartford Community Safety Partnership carried out a consultation with the Dartford Youth Council at the end of the financial year 2003-2004, in which 258 local young people were surveyed, to find out how they felt about community safety and crime in their area. Of the young people surveyed, 60% felt “safe” and 9% “very safe” being out in Dartford during the day, yet this changed to only 4% feeling “very safe” and 9% feeling “fairly safe” after dark, meaning 70% of young people surveyed did not feel safe in Dartford at night (17% did not know). 14%, or 38 of the young people surveyed had actually been a victim of crime within the past year, but only half had reported it to the Police. 51% of youths worried most about being a victim of an assault or violent crime such as street robbery or rape, when the crime types most affecting the young people who actually were victims of crime were burglary and motor vehicle crime. Out of the total number of youths surveyed, only 18% were victims of violent crime, including domestic violence and robbery. However street robbery, while the number of offences is relatively low, is a crime most likely to be committed by 12-17 year olds on 10-16 year olds, usually for mobile phones. The robbery hotspots for 2001 and 2003 are shown in the maps below. Map 10a) Robbery hotspots in Dartford 2001 Map 10b) Robbery hotspots in Dartford 2003

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Clearly Dartford Town Centre is the hotspot for robbery, but levels of robbery since 2001 had actually dropped in the town centre from 32 offences in the year to 23 in 2003. Levels of robbery have stayed constant in all other wards during the three-year period.

2001 2003

Chart 14: Robbery in Dartford by Wards 2001 and 2003

The NACRO focus-group research project in March 2003 found that young people consulted with from both the youth council and from the Temple Hill area agreed that a lot of the problems with regard to intimidation and harassment are either between groups of young people or just from one large group of young people to another young person. Young people throughout the consultation stated that they had been victims of crime where the perpetrators were other young people that live and congregate within their local area. The following statement shows an example of the type of problems being experienced by some young people in Dartford; “There is a group of about 30 young people here [Temple Hill] who have nicked my phone, and they’ve beaten me up, and it means that I don’t come up here unless I have to. If they’re around the Square then you don’t want to be.” Young people felt particularly negative about the benefits of reporting crimes to the Police, they discussed their lack of action and often lack of prioritisation of crimes that tend to affect young people. The following quote reflects this level of despondency among those in the focus group. “I reported it when my mobile was stolen but they couldn’t do anything to help because it had already been sold on by then.”… “I wouldn’t bother reporting it again because I don’t think it will make any difference.” Mobile phone theft appears to be a prime concern for young people in Dartford, and they feel that the Police do not take the matter seriously enough. The Partnership should support programmes and diversionary tactics for young people in the Borough. There have been some very successful youth projects undertaken by the Partnership since the last Audit, including the Temple Hill Youth Shelter, built as part of the Temple Hill “Healthy Living” project. While the shelter originally came in for some criticism due to offensive graffiti and damage caused by older youths, the Kent Police RBO has been getting much positive feedback since the shelter has been cleaned and reclaimed by the young people it was intended for. The shelter provides an area for young people which they can claim as “their own”. Graffiti does appear on the shelter, but providing it is not of an offensive nature the shelter provides an outlet for graffiti that may have otherwise appeared

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on shops or bus shelters, and keeps youth together in a manageable area, rather than roaming around. The Tree Estate “Team Zone” youth project is another example of positive youth work in Dartford. At the time of the previous Audit there were very few activities for young people living in Tree Estate2, and as such there were gangs of youths roaming around the estate committing anti-social behaviour. In a residents survey undertaken by the Community Development worker for the estate in 2001, 66% of residents witnessed gangs of youths hanging around the streets after dark, and residents felt that there was nothing for young people to do in Tree Estate. As a result, a successful youth club was set up, and young people also now have the option to join in with summer activities such as basketball, football and bouncy castles, and days out to the beach or ice-skating. “Team Zone” also gets young people involved in community activities such as making a float for Dartford Festival. The activities are mostly aimed at children from aged 6-13. The positive effects of this can be seen not only in how the residents, children and parents, have received the project, but also in the reduction of crime figures and nuisance youth incidents in Tree Estate since 2001. Positive Futures is a youth project run by Charlton Athletic Football Club, which includes Estate Programmes, School-based Programmes and Alternative Curriculum / Pupil Referral Unit Programmes. The Estate Programmes are 5-a-side or coaching sessions for young people in areas where access to facilities or structured sessions is difficult for a variety of reasons. These sessions serve as an excellent healthy diversionary activity. Estate sessions are currently running at Swanscombe, Central Park, Temple Hill, Stone, Bean, Longfield, Greenithe and Darenth. Weekly three-hour School-Based sessions are currently being held at Swan Valley, and Leigh City Technical College. These sessions are for disengaged pupils, male and female, that take the format of a 30-minute fitness session, 50 min workshop, and a 45-minute small-sided games session. The workshop topics include; impact of crime, effects of drugs, anti-racism, dietary requirements, fire safety, anger management/conflict resolution and social responsibility/anti-social behaviour. These sessions are monitored and evaluated using validated attitudinal and behavioural questionnaires. Work experience and coaching qualifications are possible exit routes. This particular strand of the programme has attracted much interest from the Partnership and the plan is to extend it to more schools across the region. 142 young people have been engaged on school-based programmes so far. The Alternative Curriculum sessions are for identified groups of young people across both Dartford and Gravesham that have, for various reasons, been removed from mainstream education. Most sessions are similar to the school-based programmes and the rationale is to provide a diversionary healthy activity that promotes teamwork. To date, 79 young people have been on the programme across North Kent. Tournaments are held to bring all the groups together; one recently attracted 280 young people from across the programme and was a great success. The Partnership also aims to prevent youth offending in Dartford. A NACRO survey in 1998 reported that the average cost of dealing with the behaviour of one young offender is around £52’000, and the direct cost of offending averages at £22’700 per young offender3. Youth offending can, in many cases, lead to further offending as an adult. Kent Police currently hold a list of 16-20 prolific, persistent or priority youth offenders, known as Cat D nominals. This list is updated every six weeks, by a consultation process within the Crime Reduction Unit, which involves the Sergeant in charge of the local Resident Beat Officers, the Crime Reduction Inspector, a Youth Crime Reduction Officer and the Anti-Social Behaviour coordinators. These youths are often on the ASB group, and so diversionary activities, counselling, careers advice and support for parents are offered, as well as getting youths to sign up to Acceptable Behaviour Agreements. The purpose of the Cat D nomination is to focus attention on the cases where it is most needed, in order to help young offenders to stop offending.

The 2002-2003 KCC Common Datasets include figures on Social Services referrals for offenders aged under 18, by ward of residence. Dartford ranked 8th out of 12 Districts/Boroughs in Kent, with 330 referrals in the year out of a population of 8815 10-17 year olds. Joyce Green and Stone were the wards with most referrals per population of

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juveniles, and ranked 25th and 34th in the county respectively. Stone had the most number of referrals; 45 in the year, out of a juvenile population of 574. Joyce Green, although experiencing less Social Service referrals (30) only has a population of 341 10-17 year olds. Swanscombe had 40 young offenders referred, but has larger youth population of 701. These areas experience high levels of damage, truancy and anti-social behaviour, and this is reflected in the number of young offenders residing in the wards, showing that young offenders in Stone, Swanscombe and Temple Hill often do not travel very far to offend.

There are five wards in Dartford that have at least one secondary school within their boundaries: Swanscombe, Longfield, Wilmington, Brent and West Hill. Statistics on unauthorised pupil absences from KCC run schools can be found in the KCC Common Data Sets, but figures are based only on the Ward in which the school is situated, and does not take into account the large catchment areas of all the schools. Also, these figures are dependent on what the school release and what they deem to be authorised and unauthorised absence. At the time of the last Audit (financial year report 2000-2001), Dartford ranked 12th out of 12 Districts/Boroughs in Kent, meaning it had the lowest rate of absences in the county, but by the time of the 2003-2004 Common Data Sets report, Dartford had slipped to a county ranking of 8th. In the 2000-2001 report Swanscombe, housing Swan Valley Community School which was built in 1997 and was only fully completed with a full intake of students in 2003, had a ranking of 12th out of the 76 wards housing secondary schools in the county, but unfortunately by 2003-2004 Swanscombe had moved up into the Top Ten wards for unauthorised absences in the county, with a ranking of 4th out of 78.

1. Data from National Census 2001 2. The only organised youth activities were Cub Scouts and Beavers. 3. NACRO/Princes Trust (1998) Wasted Lives: Counting the cost of juvenile offending

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Violence

North Kent as a whole is suffering from high levels of violent crime, particularly in violence against the person and robberies; violent crime is up 75% in North Kent since 2001. Dartford has seen a 39% increase in violence since the last Audit. Map 11a) Violence hotspots Dartford 2001 Map 11b) Violence hotspots Dartford 2003 Dartford Town Centre is not only the hotspot for violence in Dartford, but in the whole of North Kent, as the Town Centre experiences on average a third more violence than the next highest area, Gravesend Town Centre. Lowfield Street, Spital Street, High Street and Kent Road are the ‘hot roads’ for violence, which does suggest that the violence in Dartford Town is alcohol related, as these roads are at the centre of the nighttime economy. Violent offences do occur throughout the day, but the most likely times are from 7pm onwards, into the early morning, which in the case of Dartford Town Centre also suggests that much of the violence is based around late night drinking in the Town. In an area of under 2 square miles there are 15 pubs and 3 clubs; DA1, Jayz and Air/Breathe. The latest licence for any of these premises is 2am, although most pubs operate the usual 11 o’clock licence, meaning there are often lots of people moving around the town at the same time, either onto clubs or going home; add alcohol and unfortunately violence and anti-social behaviour in general is never far behind – attacks on and fights between strangers, domestics brought on by alcohol and disputes between friends. The same problem is experienced in towns all over the country on most Friday and Saturday nights. (See Appendix 4 for locations of pubs and clubs in Dartford Town). The Licensing Act 2003, which will be fully implemented in 2005, introduces a new licensing regime that gives the responsibility for issuing licenses for all venues, individuals and businesses to the Local Authority instead of the court. The act incorporates the following:

• Flexible opening hours, with the potential for 24 hour opening, subject to consideration of impact on local residents.

• A single scheme for licensing premises, bringing together six existing licenses - alcohol, public entertainment, cinemas, theatres, late night refreshment houses and night cafes.

• A new personal licence system, allowing holders to sell and serve alcohol for consumption on or off any licensed premises.

• Personal and premises licences to be issued by the Local Authority, not Magistrates. The new measures also place a greater emphasis on community safety, stating that the factors to be considered in a license application are: prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, public safety and prevention of harm to children. This Act will have an impact on crime and disorder, and the nighttime economy in Dartford over the next three years.

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2001 2003 Chart 15: Violence in Dartford by ward 2001 and 2003 Stone was the next highest area for violence in 2001, experiencing just under 50% of the level of Town Centre, yet in 2003 the level of violence had stayed constant, unlike most other areas. Swanscombe has shown the biggest increase in violence against the person since the last Audit, more than doubling the number of offences from 50 in 2001 to 125 in 2003. Swanscombe is an area where violence is significantly higher than any other residential area in Dartford, and is the third highest area for violent offences in the whole of North Kent, with the ‘hotroads’ being Ames Road, Knockhall Road and High Street. It is mainly of a domestic nature, and so much may also go unreported. The rise in figures can be seen in a positive light, as this may mean more women (and children, or even men) in Swanscombe are coming forward to report violence in the home. The maps and charts below show the hotspots for Kent Ambulance calls to victims of Assaults/Rapes and Stab/Gunshot Wounds for the whole of 2003. (See Appendix 5 for 2001-2003 comparisons). Map 12: Assault/Rape ambulance hotspots 2003 Chart 16: Assault/Rape ambulance calls by wards 2003

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Dartford Town is the hotspot for Kent ambulance calls to violent assault and rape by far, experiencing over 150 calls during 2003. This again links in with the violence caused by nighttime drinking in the Town. No other ward experienced more than a sixth of the level of calls, with the next highest being Princes (which is just outside of the Town) and Swanscombe, both with 25 calls in the whole year. An ambulance is more likely to be called for violence in the Town Centre as club bouncers, pub landlords, Kent Police and even passers by can call for an ambulance, whereas if a violent incident takes place in the home, or in a less busy residential area, there are less people around (or less people willing) to call for help, particularly if the incident is a domestic. Swanscombe has risen from experiencing only one ambulance call for a stab or gunshot wound in 2001 to 7 in 2003. Violence in Swanscombe is something to be monitored by the Partnership, through Kent Police, housing and Social Services, as well as crimes and ambulance calls, as the rise in violence statistics may point to a rise in incidents, or simply a rise in reporting. Either way, Swanscombe is clearly an area experiencing high levels of violence for a residential area. Map 13: Stab/Gunshot wound ambulance hotpots 2003 Chart 17: Stab/Gunshot wound ambulance calls by ward 2003 While there were 24 ambulance calls to stab/gunshot wounds, the large majority of these would have been caused by stabbings, as gun crime in Dartford is very, very low. All these charts and maps show only part of the true picture of violence in Dartford, as much violent crime goes unreported. Women are as likely as men to suffer from some sort of violence, they account for 43% of all victims, whereas some years ago the numbers would have been lower, although this again may be linked with increased reporting of domestic incidents. Women are more likely to be victims of a sexual offence, particularly between the ages of 17 to 30. Males are more likely to be victims of a violent robbery. They represent 61% of all robbery victims and it is apparent that males aged 10 to 16 are more vulnerable and the offenders are likely to be of the same age. Persons aged 15 to 29 are more likely to be victims of violence against the person than any other age group; again probably due to alcohol related violence. The chances of violence appear to lessen as the person gets older. However, women aged between 41 – 50 are more likely to be victims of violence against the person than males of the same age group, perhaps as a result of domestic violence. (See Appendix 8 for ages of victims and offenders of violent crime).

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The British Crime Survey 2002-2003 states that around one third of all people (36%) have experienced some form of inter-personal violence* in their lives. Inter-personal violence is marked by high rates of repeat victimisation. Women are more likely than men to be victims of inter-personal violence, and in many cases women who have experienced domestic violence will also have been victims of serious sexual assault. One third of women who were victims of domestic violence had never told anyone, and only 21% of victims told the Police. Unfortunately, 13% of women who experience domestic violence saw it not as a crime, but as “something that just happens”. 62% of men experiencing domestic violence had never told anyone. The majority (78%) of victims of domestic violence who did tell someone felt that the person or service they told were able to help. Women in poorer households were subject to more inter-personal violence than those in richer ones. This is very marked for domestic violence where women in households with an income of less than £10000 were three and a half times more at risk than those in households with an income of over £20000 (just under the national average wage). Women in the poorest households were more likely to have been subject to sexual assault than those in more affluent households. For men, while there was some association between household income and risk of domestic violence, this was less marked than it was for women. There are many ways in which lack of access to financial resources might increase vulnerability of becoming a victim, or indeed, perpetrator of violence. This may be associated with lack of access to resources to set up a new independent household or to pay for independent transport. Or it may be that the link is via the perpetrator, such as a desire to obtain power that is unobtainable because of an absence of well-paid employment. Or it may be associated with tensions and disputes within a household that is short of money at a particular moment. The BCS also found that the younger a person is, the more likely they are to be subject to inter-personal violence. In all cases those under 25 are the most likely to suffer inter-personal violence. * Inter-personal violence includes all domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

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Racial /Hate Crime

The ethnic make-up of Dartford’s population is 94.5% white, 2.7%% Asian, 0.9% black, 1.2% mixed race and 0.7% other. This is in contrast with the South East as a whole, which is 91% white. 1.

Between the 1st Jan 04 and 31st July 04 there were 105 incidents recorded by Kent Police that may have occurred due to ethnic prejudice. In the Chief Constables Annual Report for 2002/03 North Kent has the highest recorded number of prejudice incidents and racially aggravated crime than any other area in Kent, although North Kent also has the highest number of minority communities (according to national census data). The types of incidents are broad and consist of neighbour disputes, nuisance youths, criminal damage, assaults and public order offences. The British Crime Survey 2002-2003 found that those with a mixed race background and black people were less likely to report an incident to the Police than people from the white, Asian and ‘Chinese or other’ ethnic groups. People from black and minority ethnic backgrounds were more likely to worry about burglary, car crime and violence than white people – this was generally the case even when the type of area in which the respondent lived, and their experience of crime was taken into account. People of mixed race faced a higher risk of violence than Asian people but Asian people were more likely to be worried about being the victim of violence. A focus-group survey was also carried out for Dartford Community Safety Partnership by NACRO in March 2003, which included a Black and Ethnic Minority group. The focus groups were fairly limited in their size to ensure optimum group dynamics and discussions, and to ensure that the sessions were confidential and that participants felt that they could talk openly to an independent party. NACRO found that the main concerns expressed by the Black and Ethnic minority focus group mirrored those of other focus groups (including young people, elderly people and Town Centre residents). Areas of concern common to all focus groups were issues such as youth disorder, intimidation and harassment, and alcohol related disorder (particularly in the Town Centre) which, the Black and Ethnic minority focus group felt, were also issues that could trigger racial abuse. A lot of the concerns were also related to perceptions and things group participants had heard in the community, rather than direct personal experiences. One issue that particularly came out in the Black and Ethnic Minority focus group was a lack of confidence in reporting crimes to the Police and the need for clear information and feedback to be given to victims of crime. This supports the findings of the British Crime Survey stated above.

1. Data from National Census 2001

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Drugs and Alcohol Some of the information in this section has been sourced from the Kent Drug & Alcohol Action Team Dartford Drug Audit 2004, which was produced in Partnership with Kent Police, KCC, National Probation Service, HM Prison Service and Kent and Medway Health Authority.

Drug Use and Related Crime

Drug offences have risen by 21% since the time of the last Audit, however the district is well below both the county and regional average, and is recording considerably less offences than similar areas nationally. The structure of the drug market appears to have changed little over the last three years, except that heroin has been detected more frequently. The South East is the major corridor for Class A drugs destined for distribution throughout the UK. Regionally the main impact comes from the importation and distribution of Heroin and Crack Cocaine. London based criminal groups exert a dominant influence on drug markets across the region as London is home to some of the UK`s most significant organised criminals involved in Class A importation and distribution. Kent Police’s use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems is assisting in the stemming of this drug transfer route from London through Dartford. The supply of both Heroin and Crack Cocaine in Kent is on the increase as well as increased intelligence regarding Cocaine, particularly in reference to it being “washed up” into Crack by cocaine dealers. Cocaine dealers from Medway have tried to extend their network into Dartford with little effect due to Police intervention. Published research by the National Criminal Intelligence Service indicates that just 1 Kg of Heroin distributed at street level could result in:

• £220000 worth of stolen property • 220 burglary victims • 220 recorded crimes at a cost of £100 for each initial Police response • £650-£10000 cost to prosecute each burglar • 1078 addict crimes per month

MDMA or “Ecstasy” remains popular as a ‘recreational’ drug and is still largely linked to the night time economy countrywide. There are very few other crimes linked to the use of MDMA, other than the manufacture, dealing and possession of the drug. It is not an addictive drug in the same way that Heroin or Cocaine are, and as it is very cheap to buy on the street (£2-£5 per pill) its users do not need to commit the theft and burglary that Heroin addicts do in order to fund their habits. There were 106 drug offences recorded in Dartford F/Y 2003-2004, which showed an 8% reduction on the previous year. Cannabis possession, or possession with intent to supply, is the reason for between 65-75% of all drugs arrests in Dartford, and cannabis remains the most frequent drug detected throughout Dartford. Since the start of 2004 there have been 316 Kent Police ‘Stop and Searches’ linked to drugs (either suspicion of drug use or possession, or drugs have been found during the search) in the whole of North Kent, and 227, or 71% of these were in conducted in Dartford, mostly in and around or just outside the Town Centre.

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2001 2003 Chart 19: Drug offences in Dartford by ward, 2001 and 2003 On average between 12%-15% of drug detections are sourced at the Police Station, through searching in non-drug related arrests; this is indicated by the level of offences in the Town ward (which houses Dartford Police station). Heroin is the most common drug detected on persons connected to acquisitive crime (specifically shoplifting). Opiate users accessing treatment who admit to specific crime types to pay for their habits support this. Cocaine continues to be commonly carried on those arrested for non-acquisitive crime i.e. bail warrants, assault/violence, public order and driving offences. Map 15 a) Drug offences hotspots 2001 Map 15 b) Drug offences hotspots 2003 While this map shows Town to be the hotspot for drug offences in 2003, the nature of drug arrests (other than those resulting from searches in the Police station) are often so erratic that hotspots do not give the full picture of drug use and drug-driven criminality across the area. Stone has seen huge positive decreases in drug offences, although this does not mean that the drug use is not happening. The most likely reason for such a change in figures is that a successful warrant may have been executed in 2001, leading to lots of arrests, which then pushed up the number of offences.

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The charts above, although relating to all forms of overdose or poisoning include alcohol poisoning and intentional and accidental drug overdoses, show how some of the hotspots for drug offences coincide with the hotspots for ambulance call outs. The Town and Princes wards both experienced over 35 ambulance calls for overdose/poisonings. Town experienced 33 drug offences during the same period, although as mentioned before, this is due to the location of Dartford Police Station. In 2003-2004 there were 26 adults admitted to hospital in Dartford with drug related diagnoses, for both illegal and prescribed drugs. Alcohol Misuse Alcohol related violence is mainly a problem in Dartford Town Centre; there have been at least 93 reported incidents of violence where either the offender, victim or both were drunk in the Town Centre since the beginning of 2004. Other areas of Dartford that have experienced noticeable levels of alcohol related violence in 2004 are Temple Hill (16 incidents) and Swanscombe/Greenhithe (11 incidents). Clearly though, the Town Centre is the hotspot for violence linked to alcohol, due to the nighttime economy. The ‘binge drinking culture’ so readily talked about in the media at the moment means that the focus is on alcohol misuse in Town Centres. This type of alcohol misuse is a lot easier to measure and see the effects of than personal alcoholism, which although may not have a huge affect on crime levels as such, can be a reason for shoplifting (alcohol to drink), and can be a factor in many domestics or other violence in residential areas.

Incident per ward per 1000 population per year, 2003

10.0

8.0

7.0

5.0

3.0

Map 14: Ambulance call outs to overdose/poisoning incidents, shown per 1000 ward population per year, overlaid with Kent Police drug offence hotspots, 2003 Chart 18: Ambulance call outs for overdose/poisoning by ward, 2003

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Treatment

There is one Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centre in Dartford; The Hollies at Stone House Hospital. Treatment services are broken down into Four Tiers:

• Tier 1 – Services offered by a wide range of professionals i.e. social workers, probation, homeless units etc that are not drug specific.

• Tier 2 – Open access services such as advice and information and needles exchanges.

• Tier 3 – Structured community based services. For example methadone programmes, day care and after care.

• Tier 4 – Residential and inpatient treatment through detoxification and residential rehabilitation.

187 adults completed the initial assessment for treatment at Tier 3 and Tier 4 in 2003-2004, which is 10% of the total number accessing treatment in the county. Dartford is among the top areas in Kent for people accessing substance misuse treatment programmes. Cocaine is the drug identified as the highest problem among persons accessing treatment services; Dartford is the only area in Kent where cocaine features higher than heroin among those in treatment. The most common method for treatment referral is self-referral, often through a GP. Alcohol is the most common substance requiring Tier 3 and 4 of treatment at 52%. Cocaine is the most common drug at 12.8%, followed by heroin at 11.2%. Young People and Drugs 16% of drug offenders during 2003-2004 were aged 17 or under, and cannabis was the most common drug. However, arrest data indicates a growing number of young people are being arrested for Class A drug use. In 1998-1999 the rate of Class A arrests for people aged 16-24 was 14.4%, now it stands at 25%. In 2001-2002 there were 10 secondary school exclusions for dealing in or use of drugs/solvents, but by the following year this had risen to 22 exclusions, although 2003-2004 saw a positive reduction, with exclusions back down to 11. During 2003-2004 there were only two young people (aged 17 and under) admitted to hospital with drug related diagnoses, although these type of admissions were very low throughout the county; the highest area was Medway which saw 4 young people admitted for drug related reasons. Young people who are involved in drug use in North Kent can be offered the Drug Intervention and Support Programme (DISP) by referral to Kent Police. DISP is a multi agency programme for school age children caught or suspected of involvement with Class B substances. It has input from Police, Youth Offending Services, Health, schools, the Prison Service and Youth & Community. Drug awareness education, through theatre productions and workshops, has reached over 1400 children in primary schools and 1600 children in secondary schools across North Kent. Kent Police also send School Liaison Officers and Youth Crime Reduction Officers into schools to educate children about drugs and the law.

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Fear of Crime and Public Reassurance Dartford CSP carries out a public survey every year to gauge the opinions of residents on crime and disorder in Dartford. In 2001 233 people were surveyed, in 2002 1030 people were surveyed and in 2003 162 people were surveyed. The surveys were printed in local papers, given out at the Civic Centre, and given to key agencies and community groups. To give an idea of the demographic breakdown of those surveyed, the charts below show the results from the survey in 2002. Chart 20: Ages of people surveyed in Dartford CSP Crime Survey 2002 Chart 21: Ethnicity of people surveyed in Dartford CSP Crime Survey 2002 The male/female split was roughly 50%male and 50% female. The under 18 age group was not well represented in this survey, but Dartford CSP also carried out a Youth Survey in order to gauge the opinions of young people. The 18-24 age group is the least represented (2%), and yet members of this age group are most likely to be a victim of crime. The over 50’s, and particularly those aged 55-74, are the best represented, at 43% of those surveyed. The ethnicity of those surveyed reflects the ethnic make up of Dartford, which is 94.5% white.

Ages of people surveyed in Dartford CSP Crime Survey 2002

2% 9%

16%

15%21%

22%

12% 3%

Under 1818-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465-7475 plus

Ethnicity of people surveyed in Dartford CSP Crime Survey 2002

95%

White BritishWhite IrishWhite otherWhite & AsianOther MixedIndianBangladeshiOther Asian

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In 2001 36% of people surveyed had actually been a victim of crime, in 2002 this had dropped to 30% and in 2003 the number was 36% again, showing the level of people actually being affected by crime stays constant, although in many cases residents or businesses can be repeat victims. The results from the 2003 survey (Chart 22 below) show that the public are most worried about violent crime, with 104 people choosing this crime as the most worrying (64% of the total people surveyed). In contrast, only 10 people out of a total of 162 had actually been a victim of violent crime (6%). Chart 22: Results from Dartford CDRP Crime Survey 2003. Residents could choose up to three crime types from the list that worried them the most. Often the most worrying statistic to come out of the public surveys is the amount of crime that goes unreported; in the 2001 survey only 27% of crimes experienced by people surveyed was reported to the Police. However the level of reporting showed significant increases in the two following surveys; in 2002 70% of crime was reported by those surveyed, and in 2003 this number had risen to 72%. The British Crime Survey (BCS) 2002-2003 provides a national picture on crime that goes beyond Police statistics, since it covers both unreported and unrecorded crime, and Police recorded crime figures, and provides more reliable data on trends. The risk of becoming a victim of crime has fallen nationally from 40 per cent in 1995 to 26 percent according to BCS interviews in 2003/04, the lowest level recorded since the BCS began in 1981. According to the BCS, there has been a fall in the proportion of people believing that crime has increased over the past two years, both in their local area and in the country as a whole, compared with the previous year. The willingness of the public to report crime varies considerably by type of offence. Thefts of vehicles are the most likely to be reported (95%), followed by burglaries in which something was stolen (78%). Reporting rates are relatively low for crimes such as attempted vehicle theft, vandalism and common assault (34%, 31% and 30% respectively in 2003/04). The most frequently mentioned reason for not reporting incidents was that victims perceived them to be too trivial, there was no loss or they believed that the Police would or could not do much about them (71% of incidents). In nearly a quarter of cases (24%), the victim felt the incident was a private matter to be dealt with themselves. Twenty-nine per cent of victims of both vandalism and common assault (which includes violence with minimal or no injury) were victimised more than once according to 2003/04 BCS interviews, compared with just seven per cent of victims of theft.

Results from Dartford CDRP Crime Survey 2003

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Burglary Violentcrime

Criminaldamage

Drugs Publicnuisance

Vehiclecrime

StreetRobbery

Racialharassment

Domesticviolence

Graffiti Fly-tipping Other

Worried most Experienced

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The proportion of reported violent crime that was recorded by the Police continued to rise from 52 per cent in the year to September 2002 to 62 per cent in the year to September 2003. Common assault (without injury) saw a large increase in recording of around a half to stand at 68 per cent. This supports the evidence from the analyses of the impact of the new National Crime Recording Standards set by the Police, that the greatest increases in the recording of crime nationally have been in low-level violence (Simmons, Legg and Hosking, 2003). Criminal damage remained level between 2002/03 and 2003/04 as measured by the BCS (the fall of three per cent was not statistically significant). The Police recorded a nine per cent rise in criminal damage between 2002/03 and 2003/04, although this rise is also likely to be linked to improvements in recording practices. As mentioned earlier, NACRO conducted some focus-group research in Dartford in March 2003. Dartford’s community safety team agreed the target population for these focus groups were; ‘at risk’ young people, mainstream young people, the black and ethnic minority community, the elderly community and town centre residents. The focus groups were fairly limited in their size to ensure optimum group dynamics and discussions, and to ensure that the sessions were confidential and that participants felt that they could talk openly to an independent party. It was generally felt that the youth disorder in Dartford had increased over the last year. Both the younger and older participants felt this. However it was recognised that certain types of anti-social behaviour had become increasingly problematic; largely there was great concern over youth on youth intimidation and harassment and the increasing levels of theft from young people by young people. It was also cited that graffiti and vandalism was increasing, this made the majority of the participants very frustrated as it restricted where they could go and how comfortable they felt using areas of public space. Overall participants felt comfortable to report crimes to the Police. However of those that had reported crimes to the Police in the last year there was a mixed response about the effectiveness of this and the response that they had received. A number of participants shared their experiences when they had reported an incident when they had been pleased with the result. For example one participant had reported a burglary and had been given some crime prevention advice, and they felt encouraged by that, stating, “ I did feel better for reporting it.” However a number of other participants suggested that there was little point in reporting incidents, as the Police did not prioritise or act upon their report. Improved local transport was mentioned by participants in three of the five focus groups as a possible solution to both crime and disorder issues, but also to the reduction of fear of crime and improved feelings of safety. The town centre residents highlighted the need for improved transport at night in the town centre so that people using the bars and clubs can be dispersed quickly after closing time, but also so that customers of the late night economy do not park in residential streets. When the idea of ‘booze buses’ was introduced (an initiative that could be funded by the local authority and local licenses), there was overall agreement that this could significantly improve the levels of anti-social behaviour currently resulting from the customers of the late night economy after closing time. The important point to note is that only a minority of the people consulted linked their anxieties, fears or avoidance behaviour to direct victimisation that they had experienced. Furthermore a number of the participants suggested that some of their fears and anxieties that they felt are linked to what they hear in the community, as one participants said, “I think we just hear about things happening in certain places and then avoid it.” It was also discussed that information that people hear about through the community and in some cases the media help to create perceptions and stereotypes that affect peoples behaviour and impact upon feelings of safety. As one participant stated; “It’s a lot about stereotypes isn’t it, what you hear about makes you feel unsafe, rather than your own experiences.”

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Conclusion Anti-social behaviour, including violence and criminal damage (both of which, while being separate crimes are also clearly anti-social), is the major crime and disorder concern in Dartford, and will continue to be so for the next three years. Anti-social behaviour is a concern for many Dartford residents, either because they have experienced it first-hand, or because they fear it more than any other crime. The successful decreases in levels of vehicle crime and burglary show that Partnership focus (in the case of these crimes, driven by Kent Police) on specific crime types does bring results, and so ASB should be at the forefront of Partnership working until the next Audit in 2007/2008. Anti-social behaviour is unique in that much more work to tackle it can be done by Partners other than Kent Police, particularly Housing, Education, Youth Offending Services and Probation. Every resident of Dartford has the right to live in; “…a decent, civil society in which people can shape their own lives and participate fully in their community.” Home Secretary, David Blunkett. Taken from the Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, 2003 This means that Dartford CSP needs to work on building local communities, investing time and money in long term projects, and education for adults, young people and children in respecting property, public spaces and other people Since the last Crime and Disorder Audit in 2001, there have been many positive examples of Partnership work that have impacted the levels of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour in Dartford Borough. Work in the Tree Estate, particularly youth orientated projects, have meant that crime and nuisance youth activity have greatly decreased. Temple Hill has been, and will continue to be the site for much planned redevelopment over the next few years. The presence of the Kent Police Beat Officer, and good work by the Anti-Social Behaviour Group, have meant that levels of nuisance youth behaviour and criminal damage have dropped in the past year. Stone, although still being an area that needs development, now has a Residents Association and a Kent Police Beat Officer, and levels of crime and anti-social behaviour have dropped considerably in the last year. Swanscombe has shown itself to be an area of concern, for many reasons, most notably violence, truancy and anti-social behaviour. Since November 2003 however, overall crime has decreased in Swanscombe. This may be partly due to the introduction of a Police Community Support Officer, who started working in Swanscombe at the beginning of October 2003 and is now well established in the area, and a second Police Community Support Officer who started work in the area at the beginning of 2004. Working together these two PCSO’s have become well known among the community, particularly among the children. They provide Kent Police with good information about what is going on in Swanscombe day to day, and take part in many community activities, as well as being there as Kent Police representatives to the public, answering questions, attending public meetings and visiting victims of crime. More work needs to be done in Swanscombe to tackle the community problems, rather than just the crime, as the social factors affect the levels of crime and disorder. Dartford Town Centre experiences problems with anti-social behaviour linked to the night time economy, however it is the pubs and clubs that bring much of the current visitors and revenue to Dartford, so there need to be projects in place to ensure the safety of pub and club goers. Dartford Town also needs to bring more visitors during the day, and more retail developments such as Prospect Place, and perhaps new affordable restaurants and cafes, could make Dartford a more attractive place to visit for shopping or leisure. Dartford Community Safety Partnership has achieved so much since the first Community Safety Strategy was set, and the Strategy for the coming three years must continue to build on the foundations of these achievements, but must also take work on reducing anti-social behaviour much, much further. Creating healthy and safe communities, where residents are not afraid of violence, damage, nuisance youths, harassment must be the priority for all Partners.

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Appendices Appendix 1: Current Structure of the Partnership Appendix 2: North Kent Crime Figures – Financial Years 2001-2004

North Kent Crime Figures

Crime Category 2001-2002 2002-2003 % Increase/ Decrease from 2001

2003-2004 % Increase/ Decrease from 2001

Violence Against the Person

1606 2447 52.4% 2812 75%

Sexual 96 101 5.2% 141 46.8% Robbery 249 248 0.4% 288 15.6% Residential Burglary 1225 1254 2.4% 1395 13.9% Burglary Other 1775 1952 9.9% 1933 8.9% Vehicle Crime 4844 4835 0.2% 4502 7% Theft 4675 4971 6.3% 5468 17% Fraud and Forgery

1346 1408 4.6% 1671 24.1%

Criminal Damage 5129 5153 0.5% 6936 35.3% Drugs 248 328 32.2% 255 2.8% Other 166 237 42.8% 225 35.5% Total 21339 22934 7.5% 25626 20%

Dartford Borough Community Safety Partnership

(Sets Strategy)

Executive Sub Group

Temple Hill (Focus Area)

Tasking Group

Town Centre (Focus Area)

Tasking Group

Stone (Focus Area)

Tasking Group

Tree Estate (Consolidation Area)

Exit Strategy

Anti-Social Behaviour Tasking Group

Criminal Damage Tasking Group

Drugs Tasking Group

(Community Against Drugs)

Appendix 3: Cost of Crime in Pounds Dartford – Estimated Figures

2001 Total TOMV TFMV Shoplifting Robbery Bike Theft Theft Fraud Res Burg Burg OthStolen 8039787 3216277 414925 164501 145951 22367 986656 159084 590068 572142 Recovered 2430259 1940578 8855 81874 12236 2390 130962 7036 147606 88496 % never recovered 77 62 98 67 92 90 88 96 80 87 2003 Total TOMV TFMV Shoplifting Robbery Bike Theft Theft Fraud Res Burg Burg OthStolen 6411106 2006826 364496 170030 50118 13210 1916812 183478 750615 946968 Recovered 1811908 1243754 34242 60269 390 1031 77498 41504 244758 108459 % never recovered 78 62 91 74 99 93 96 82 75 90 Stolen % increase /decrease from 2001 20% 37% 12% 3% 65% 40% 94% 15% 27% 65%

2001 2003 % Increase/ Decrease on 2001

Criminal Damage 653466 811121 24% % of Total is Criminal Damage 37 38 2.7% TOTAL 1108216 1310676 18%

TOMV = Theft of Motor Vehicle TFMV = Theft From Motor Vehicle Res Burg = Residential Burglary Burg Oth = Burglary of Building Other than Dwelling

Property Damaged

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Estimated figures on cost of crime have been obtained from Kent Police crime reports where the value of the property stolen and/or damaged has been recorded. Figures for crime categories such as Sexual/Violent Offences and Other Offences have been omitted from charts, but are included in totals.

Appendix 4: Location of pubs and clubs in Dartford Town Centre (Licensed premises are indicated with red marker) 49

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Appendix 5: Kent Ambulance calls 2001-2003 comparisons

Ambulance calls for Assault/Rape 2001 2003

2001 2003

Ambulance calls to Stab/Gunshot wounds

2001 2003

Joydens Wood

Sutton At Hone and Hawley

Sutton At Hone and Hawley

Sutton At Hone and Hawley

Sutton At Hone and Hawley

51

2001 2003

Ambulance Calls to Overdoses/Poisonings

2001 2003

2001 2003

Joydens Wood

Joydens Wood

Sutton At Hone and Hawley

Sutton At Hone and Hawley

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Appendix 6: Ages of Offenders and Victims for All Crime in Dartford 2003 (Where either have been recorded in crime report)

Ages of Victims and Offenders - All Crime in Dartford 2003

0 500 1000 1500 2000

0 to 9

10 to 14

15 to 19

20 to 24

25 to 30

30 to 40

35 to 39

40 to 44

45 to 49

50 to 54

55 to 59

60 to 69

70 to 79

80 to 89

90+

Victims Offenders

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Appendix 7: Types of Crime experienced by Older People (Burglary Dwelling = Residential)

Crime affecting Dartford residents aged 61-70

42%

6%6%

18%

9%

10%

3%

5%

1%

BURGLARY DWELLING

BURGLARY OTHER

CRIMINAL DAMAGE OFFENCES

FRAUD AND FORGERY

ROBBERY

THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE

THEFT OF MOTOR VEHICLE

THEFT OF PEDAL CYCLE

THEFT OFFENCES

VEHICLE INTERFERENCE

VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PERSON

Crime affecting Dartford residents aged 71-80

32%

9%

14%

25%

6%

7%

1%2%

3%1%

BURGLARY DWELLING

BURGLARY OTHER

CRIMINAL DAMAGE OFFENCES

FRAUD AND FORGERY

ROBBERY

THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE

THEFT OF MOTOR VEHICLE

THEFT OFFENCES

VEHICLE INTERFERENCE

VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PERSON

Crime affecting Dartford residents aged 81-100

39%

9%25%

3%

18%

3%3%BURGLARY DWELLING

BURGLARY OTHER

CRIMINAL DAMAGEOFFENCESFRAUD AND FORGERY

THEFT OFFENCES

VEHICLE INTERFERENCE

VIOLENCE AGAINST THEPERSON

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Appendix 8: Ages of Offenders and Victims of Violent Crime in Dartford 2003 (Where either have been recorded in the crime report)

Ages of offenders and victims of violent crime

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

1 to 9

10 to 14

15 to 19

20 to 24

25 to 29

30 to 34

35 to 39

40 to 44

45 to 49

50 to 54

55 to 59

60 to 69

70 to 79

80+

Victim Offender

55

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