Inside a very ordinary looking building at the end of a gravel drive, off a quiet village road, few would realise that there is a fierce battle going on against drug dealers, burglars, thieves and vandals.
The building, in Lympne, houses Kent Crimestoppers and from there manager Steve Mellers, right, wages a war against the county’s criminals.
All calls to Kent Crimestoppers go through to a call centre in Godstone, in East Sussex, but Steve is responsible for making sure the calls keep coming in. And he seems to be doing a good job as over the last year there were 1,677 actionable calls and for each one of those there were another 12 that Crimestoppers could not do anything with, as not enough details were left.
As a result of the calls Kent Police arrested and charged 284 people last year.
Mr Mellers said: “Police can’t do anything unless they know about it. People shouldn’t just moan about things happening in their community, they need to tell someone.
“If they are worried about going to the police they can come to us anonymously instead. How can the police help if people don’t tell them?
“Luckily there are public spirited people in Kent who want to get rid of crime in their areas.”
Kent Crimestoppers is a charity. It receives funding from the Kent Police Authority and Kent County Council, but also has to fund-raise. It not only works with the police, but any authority which is concerned with reducing crime and catching criminals, which can also include Customs, the Border Agency and local authorities.
Mr Mellers keeps calls coming into Kent Crimestoppers by running regular campaigns across the county. Last year there was one called Too Much Bling - Give Us A Ring which encouraged people to report those living lavish lifestyles from the proceeds of crime. Another was Rat on a Rat which encouraged information about drug dealers.
Mr Mellers said: “More than 50 per cent of all calls to Crimestoppers are about drugs. If people see things on estates or know people who are dealing we encourage them to make that phone call.
“The police get in touch and tell me about a problem in a particular area and ask me what I can do. We run a campaign and it is usually two or three weeks later, when people have worked up the courage, that they make the call.”
To target all members of the community Crimestoppers gets its message out on posters, leaflets and even on the back of buses and on beer mats. It is constantly looking at updating the ways people can get in touch anonymously and as well as the phone number people can now get in touch on-line, without their details being recorded and there are trials elsewhere in the country for informants to be able to text anonymously.
There’s never time for Mr Mellers to put his feet up. He is currently working a campaign to be run by KCC aimed at tackling loan sharks and preparing for National Tackling Drugs Week in June.
He also makes regular appearances at public safety events to publicise the work of Kent Crimestoppers and gives talks to organsiations such as rotary clubs.
To get in touch with Kent Crimestoppers phone 0800 555 111. Callers can remain anonymous, they do not have to leave their details and the call will not show up on an itemised phone bill.
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