Kent crime squad hit double figures
Sixty-six charges were secured by a specialist team of Kent Police detectives and uniformed officers in April 2020.
Among those charged by the Chief Constable’s Crime Squad are a man suspected to have been involved in around 30 burglaries across the county and two people who are accused of stealing two cars from a home in Twydall.
In addition to the new charges, which were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, officers made 21 arrests, carried out 19 warrants and secured 17 years and 10 months in prison sentences for offenders they had previously investigated – including a knife-point robber.
Detective Chief Inspector Lopa McDermott, who leads the Chief Constable’s Crime Squad, said: ‘Although a drop in reported crime has been widely publicised, it does not make the impact any less severe for a victim who has been targeted. We are committed to providing them with the best possible service.
‘Day-to-day police work has not stopped and each day my team comes into work to pursue offenders who cause significant harm to our communities – people who have proven they are willing to break into a person’s home or threaten someone with violence to obtain money.
‘There is no place for such offending in our county and the public can be assured we have the resources and expertise to pursue justice.’
The Chief Constable’s Crime Squad is a county-wide team that mostly deals with robbers and burglars but also targets repeat offenders.
At the start of the month they charged a man with conspiring to commit burglary after around 30 offences were committed across the county between December 2019 and 2 April. Areas targeted include Chatham, Dartford, West Kingsdown, Tonbridge and Whitstable. The suspect has been remanded in custody ahead of a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday 18 May.
Officers also charged two people with a burglary in Twydall that saw two cars stolen on 23 April. Both cars were recovered within hours of the offence taking place and the suspects have been remanded in custody to appear at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday 22 May.
Additionally, investigators secured a burglary charge against a man accused of stealing cigarettes from a shop in Ramsgate High Street on 19 April and, at the start of April, they charged a man with stealing jewellery from a home in Gillingham. Both men have been remanded in custody ahead of future court appearances.
Noteworthy prison sentences the unit secured in April include four year’s imprisonment of a teenage boy who carried out an armed robbery in Boughton-under-Blean and a three-year prison sentence for a burglar who used manhole covers to break into businesses across Rochester, Sheerness and Canterbury.
DCI McDermott added: ‘There will be no let-up in our efforts. We’re going to continue to go after offenders who present a high risk and, as our results show, such individuals can expect to be arrested, charged and sentenced to period of imprisonment.’
