Medway Tories Once Again Fail To Act On Crime

28th July, 2022

The Medway Conservative administration has failed to support a Labour Group plan to reintroduce community wardens tied to every ward. The Labour Group sought to encourage the Council to take this step as it is necessary in response to the rising levels of public concerns about anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping in Medway.

Cllr Simon Curry, Medway Labour and Co-operative Group Spokesperson for Regeneration, Culture and the Environment said:

“As councillors one of the concerns we hear about more and more on the doorstep in Medway is crime and public safety, particularly in relation to issues like anti-social behaviour and fly tipping. We strongly believe reinstating a community warden tied to every ward would have acted as a strong measure against crime, which is why we brought forward this idea to the last Full Council. It is disappointing that the Tories didn’t support us on this and have shown they can’t be trusted to tackle this serious problem – only a Labour local government in May 2023 will ensure a rigorous Council approach to public safety.”

Cllr Tristan Osborne, Medway Labour and Co-operative Group Spokesperson for Community Safety added:

“This is the second time in less than a year that this Conservative administration has shown itself to be completely unwilling to take the measures necessary to be tough on crime. After refusing to endorse our motion calling for more police officers in Medway, they’ve now voted against our amendment calling for the return of community wards. The people of Medway deserve to feel safe when they’re out and about in their own neighbourhoods, and have once again been let down by this failing Tory administration.”

ENDS

The Labour Group amendment that was turned down at last Full Council read as follows:

This council further notes that the incidents of fly tipping and anti-social behaviour have increased since this council moved away from its policy of one Council warden linked to each ward. Therefore this Council commits to the reintroduction of a council warden linked to each ward.