Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to increase police presence and reduce anti-social behaviour in town centres in Medway.

Through our Crime and Policing Act, we are rolling out new enhanced powers to enable local agencies to tackle antisocial behaviour offenders. And our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee has ensured that every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated antisocial behaviour lead, and a local action plan in place to crack down on offenders who blight our communities.

We are also delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel into roles across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament As of 28 February 2026, Kent Police have grown by 71 (FTE) Neighbourhood since March 2025.

Every neighbourhood, including those in the Medway towns, has named, and contactable officers dedicated to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour locally and forces have increased patrols in town centres and other key locations based on local demand and intelligence.

Furthermore, the Safer Streets Summer Initiative ran from June the September last year. The core aim was to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB), street crime and retail crime in Town Centres, and to increase confidence in policing through increased collaboration at a local level. Kent Police participated in the initiative with 15 locations, three of them in Medway covering Chatham, Brompton, and Rochester.