Kent Police shows progress, but weak spots remain
Praise for progress and concerns over accountability, plus Kent’s politics, planning and other news from the week
This week’s Kent Current leads with a new inspection of Kent Police, which praises progress in call handling and victim outcomes but raises serious concerns about how the force records and scrutinises the use of force. We've also local government reorganisation, water and infrastructure issues, major planning applications, and the mix of politics, public services and local oddities shaping Kent this week...
Kent Police wins praise for progress, but watchdog finds force oversight still falls short
Kent Police has got better at some of the most visible parts of the job, including answering calls and improving outcomes for victims. But a new inspection says it still has some uncomfortable weaknesses in one of the most sensitive parts of policing, namely how it records, explains and independently scrutinises the use of force.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services said Kent Police had strengthened how it responds to the public and investigates crime since the last inspection, and rated the force outstanding in its support and development of its workforce. Even so, inspectors also said the force needs to do more to properly account for force used by officers and to better protect vulnerable people.
The most striking finding in the report is on the use of force. Inspectors said Kent Police recorded 19,444 use-of-force incidents in the year to March 2025, but estimated it should have recorded 29,565. On that basis, the force likely under-recorded use-of-force incidents by over 10,000.
They also found that in 14 of 20 use-of-force cases they reviewed, the paperwork lacked sufficient detail or rationale to justify why force was used, the level of force used, or the specific tactic chosen.
That is worth being precise about. The report does not accuse Kent Police of unlawfully using force in those cases. What it does say is that the force is still not reliably documenting one of the clearest tests of police accountability.
HM Inspector Roy Wilsher said he was pleased with several aspects of Kent Police’s performance, but identified continuing concerns about how it records and reviews police powers and protects people at risk of harm.
The report also says independent scrutiny of police powers remains too thin. Kent Police has a public volunteer panel which reviews body-worn video and provides feedback, but inspectors found that in the 12 months leading up to the inspection, it had met only three times rather than the planned four. Over that period, it reviewed just 11 stop-and-search cases and four use-of-force cases. Inspectors said that was not enough to provide meaningful independent scrutiny.
There were continued concerns about disproportionality, too. The report says people from a black ethnic minority background were 2.9 times more likely than white people to be subject to the use of force by Kent Police in the year to March 2025. Black people were also 2.6 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched. Inspectors said the force analyses this, but still needs to better understand and explain the disparity and take action to reduce it.
This was not a bad report across the board. Kent Police was praised for improvements in call handling, with 93.6% of 999 calls answered within 10 seconds in the year to November 2025, above the national standard of 90%. Inspectors also said the force had improved its non-emergency performance and increased positive outcomes for victims of crime.
But even there, the story is not entirely tidy. The report says Kent Police still regularly misses attendance time targets for calls, while investigators still need to improve supervision when closing cases and make sure the correct outcome codes are recorded.
The watchdog also identified weaknesses in safeguarding. It said Kent Police needed to take more consistent action with partner agencies to reduce risks to vulnerable people. In the cases reviewed by inspectors, schools had been notified about children exposed to domestic abuse in only 10 of 15 relevant cases. Information was shared with appropriate agencies in only 18 of 28 relevant cases. There were also concerns about inconsistent handling of missing person investigations across different divisions.
Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott welcomed the report and sought to present it as evidence of progress.
He said, “I welcome the findings of this report that evidences the progress Kent Police has made over the past couple of years. It is continuously improving the service that it delivers to residents and businesses, and that is reflected in the commentary and gradings.”
Scott pointed to neighbourhood policing, contact centre performance and improved outcomes for victims, adding that “there are still some areas for improvement,” which he said Kent Police had already started to address.
That is fair up to a point. This is not a report that says Kent Police is failing everywhere. But it is also not quite the reassuring progress report Scott would like.
Some of the weakest findings go to the heart of how the public judges a police force. When officers use force, is the justification properly recorded? Is there enough scrutiny from outside the force to test whether powers are being used fairly? When vulnerable people come into contact with police, are the right agencies being told and the right safeguards put in place?
Kent Police can point to genuine improvement in some important areas. What this report makes clear is that there are still some fairly basic things that it is not getting right often enough.
Council matters
Meetings this week:
- Dover: Cabinet gathers tonight (Monday) to discuss affordable housing, air quality, and the management of Deal beach.
- Folkestone & Hythe: Planning and Licensing Committee meets on Tuesday to decide on plans to convert a toilet block into a war memorial.
- Gravesham: Council will debate the corporate risk register and changes to the constitution on Tuesday.
- Maidstone: Cabinet will meet on Wednesday to seemingly debate every issue in the borough.
- Ashford: Cabinet meets on Thursday to discuss the biggest report of the year: the Customer Service, IT and Digital Strategy.
New planning applications:
- Dartford: Erection of a neighbourhood centre in Stone, with retail units, restaurants, offices, and a health centre.
- Sevenoaks: Outline application for up to 300 new homes in Ash.
- Tonbridge & Malling: Expansion of existing car parking on the edge of Aylesford.
Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd. The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An annual subscription costs £1.15 a week and helps make that possible.
In brief
📍 Kent County Council is calling on the government to fast-track local government reorganisation, rather than follow the original timeline, which would mean waiting until the summer.
🟢 Green Party leader Zack Polanski returned to Margate on Friday night following the victory of Green candidate Rob Yates in the Cliftonville by-election.
💉 The NHS is set to begin offering second doses of the meningitis vaccine following the recent outbreak in Canterbury.
🚰 South East Water has announced a support package for Tunbridge Wells businesses following supply disruptions in December.
🏗️ Work on developing the 10,000 home Otterpool Park development near Folkestone has been 'painfully slow,' but there may finally be some movement in the project.
🚓 A dispersal order was put in place in Broadstairs last week after large numbers of young people arrived in the town and began engaging in antisocial behaviour.
🚄 Eurotunnel has been fined £2.25m for a 2018 health and safety failure that led to serious injuries to an engineer.
💣 Masts are set to be removed from the SS Montgomery, the explosives-laden shipwreck that sits off the Kent coast, in the latest efforts to stop it from going boom.
🚧 Resurfacing works on the Thanet Way will take place across June and July, allowing the very bumpy road to eventually return to its 70mph speed limit.
🏫 St Lawrence College, a private school in Ramsgate that has operated since 1879, has entered into administration and faces closure.
💷 Kent County Council and Medway Council have launched a new Grow in Kent service to support the visitor economy and inward investment in the county.
🚜 In an impressive example of making a global story local, Rayo has been pondering what the attempted ceasefire in Iran means for Kent farmers.
🏡 On a similar note, the Guardian talks to a Canterbury estate agent about how the war has knocked confidence in the property market.
🐇 Wild rabbits have disappeared from large parts of rural Kent, with a deadly virus suspected as the cause.
🎛️ A Folkestone music festival has been given the go-ahead despite some nearby residents being very unhappy about the noise.
🎸 Louder Than War have reviewed Courtney Barnett's performance at Where Else? in Margate.
🗣️ The Times have an extensive interview with Margate artist Tracey Emin.
☕ If Kent is short of one thing, it's coffee shops, so it's a relief that Black Sheep Coffee plans to open not 13, not 15, but 14 new outlets in Kent.
Property of the week
This week’s property is The Butchery, a Grade II listed mid-terrace right in the heart of Sandwich’s conservation area, which means you get the full medieval-town charm package and, crucially, a private parking space, which in central Sandwich is basically a superpower. The house is being sold chain free and has been used as a holiday home, but it looks set up for normal life too, with a front snug built around an exposed brick fireplace and solid fuel burner, a big dining room, then a rear living room with beams and patio doors straight out to a walled, sunny garden that is designed for low fuss and decent outdoor eating. Upstairs, there are four proper double bedrooms, including an en suite to the main bedroom, plus both a bathroom and a separate shower room, so it is not going to collapse into morning chaos the first time you have guests. Guide price £625,000.
Events this week
🔫 Tue 14 Apr - David Olusoga: A Gun Through Time // TV historian tells the story of four firearms that changed the world. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £32. // Also at Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury on 26 Apr.
🎤 Sun 19 Apr - Andy Zaltzman: The Zaltgeist // Host of The Bugle podcast assesses the state of the world. Quartherhouse, Folkestone. Tickets £20. Also at Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone on 5 May.
Footnotes
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