Vehicles in Dane Valley were vandalised in a spree across the ward in the early hours of this morning (April 8).
Broken wing mirrors were amongst the damage caused to vehicle in roads including Irvine Drive, William Avenue, Northdown Park Road, Victoria Avenue, Dane Valley Road and Tomlin Drive.
Witnesses say one man, who was with two or three others, was spotted kicking and jumping on the cars. It is thought more than 15 vehicles were damaged as well as reports of a break in at an empty property.
A Kent Police spokesperson said: “Kent Police is investigating reports that a number of cars were damaged in the Irvine Drive area of Margate between 4am and around 5am today.
“Officers attended the area and are continuing enquiries, including identifying potential CCTV opportunities.
“Anyone who believes their car was damaged during this time and has not yet reported it, or any witnesses who have not yet made themselves known, is urged to do so by calling 101 or via the Kent Police website at: https://www.kent.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/.”
It’s about time we had more police in Thanet, this is constantly happening yet nothing done. Cost to repair damaged caused by these low life’s is unexceptable, do we have to sort this out ourself’s ??. But then we get prosecuted for protecting our property. More police please
Easy cameras
I agree with “Chris” there response time to reported crime is abysmal. If they respond at all. It is as if a live incident reported on 999 can wait until tomorrow, or even a few days later. What’s wrong with one police vehicle standing by in each Ward who’s only duty is to Act Now! CCTV opportunities my bottom. Utterly pathetic. The day will doubtless come, when a private police force of like minded neighbours will patrol/ look out and respond together, responsibly! You have “the power of arrest” using reasonable force when you see a crime being committed. The police do to, but most of them never see anything, because admin staff in a control room, make the police attendance decision. Then if you are lucky and someone is arrested, another faceless wonder makes the decision on whether to prosecute or not, long before a court ever sees the case. “Money”, “resources”, “laziness”, “neglect of duty”, health and safety, a thousand reasons why yobs have the freedom to please themselves with the property belonging to others. When one member of the pubic has had enough and catches one of these idiots and looses their temper, of course they will be prosecuted for assault and “taking the law into their own hands”. I say, where else is it? Admin staff behind a switchboard with a misguided priority guide in front of them to respond to 999 callers needing help? Report a burglary and you will get; “did they leave anything behind that could be useful” and ” Is their and CCTV ? then you may get a call a week later from “victims of crime” offering a shoulder to cry on whilst the burglar is on his third job that night and coming back to your house next week. We really do have a dysfunctional police system run by dysfunctional police force with managers with the intelligence of Lemmings. I write with considerable personal experience. For what it is worth.
For all the many faults of the police , its the whole criminal justice system that needs looking at. The police don’t have sufficient resources to carry out their role as we and most probably they would like. The Crown Prosecution Service are prone to refusing prosecute all butthe moost serious and certain (of successful prosecuttion) offences and the courts don’t hand out deterrrant sentences and theres insufficient rehabilitation.
About 20 years ago, i woke to find two herberts running out of my garden with the contents of my locked shed, called police chased them, police caught them from my description and cctv. I did a drive by identification. Should have been a done deal but , it was deciided by cps not to prosecute as it was’nt in public interest. Officers were as annoyed as me and gave me the names of the pair ( by mistake) i tracked one down and paid him a visit, explained frankly that he needed to stay out of my property ( purely verbal), i then had a visit from the police saying a complaint had been made and listened to my side of story. It was agreed no threats had been made and that apparently i’d made myself clear to the thief, officers said it was probably the biggest wake up call the idiot had had in years. Heard nothing more.
Would i do the same today in similar circumstances, probably not.
The whole system is broken and the criminal / antisocial know it, society is happy to accept pleas in respect of life history and mental health as the reasons for why some act as they do, not surprisingly these pleas are used more and more often. On average 1 person a wek is illegally killed by someone who has serious mental health issues, but we don’t hear for calls to bring back the asylums and accept the death toll as being the cost of not locking people up. In comparison a few wing mirrors is’nt even on the chart. Until of course it happens to you, and you find that the electric , heated , auto dipping mirror that needs colour matching is going to cost you £500 or go through your insurance.
There will be more assaults on the streets and eventually there’ll be a case where a victim sorts things out themselves, in most cases these will never get to court, a state that fails to protect its people can’t be seen to prosecute those that protect themselves /property , if it does then the social contract is weakened even further.
Kent police are a shambles nothing ever happens when cars are being damaged and we have the pay repairs out of our pockets as u lose. O claims etc . 2 there is no cctv in millmead estate .
I see about 2 police cars a day on the estate driving round but are quickly on off the estate . Time to recruit I think 🤔
Thanks David and LC for you agreeing with me on this. Your a victim of crime and then your treated as the criminal for trying to live within the law as most good people do. Stop treating these low life’s as criminal’s of mental health or bad upbringing. They all know right from wrong, it’s a choice they make to do what they do. Stop giving 2 years for crime and then let them out after 1 year, if you get 2 years then serve 2 years and take away priverages and make them realize it not exstepable. Break the law and pay the price. Otherwise what’s the point of law’s.
On 4 occasions over recent years we have had our car vandalised. We have CCTV and each time the police have looked at the CCTV they have recognised the offenders. 1. White Female 18 years of age drunk. Kicked mirror off brand new can 3 weeks old. Cost to replace £276. Police said they had been to her address and she has offered to clean our car for the next two months. I declined the offer. 2. Black adult male 28 damaged car lock whilst drunk he said he had missed the last train to London so tried to break into car to sleep. £390 to repair he was given a police caution. 3. Mirror kicked off by 13 year old boy at 2.30 am !!! Whilst on his way home from babysitting. £276 to repair, no action taken by police I was told ( he is a problem lad he’s had a difficult childhood) 4. 16 year old keyed car spoken to by police no action taken. £190 to repair. All above happened in the last five years.
4 examples of why some people think can do as they wish with no risk of being held to account. Odd world where such views are correct.
I have no idea who the community officer is for this area is there a pcos???? I have lived here for 6 years and they do not patrol at all
It’s not all doom and gloom.
See this from the IoTN (Nov 2019)
“Two teenage boys have been arrested during an investigation into reports of criminal damage to cars in Thanet and Faversham.
Kent Police received around 50 reports of criminal damage caused to the windscreens and windows of parked vehicles in Margate, Westgate-on-Sea, Birchington and Faversham overnight between around 7pm on Monday, October 28 into the early hours of the following morning.
Two boys from Faversham, aged 16 and 15, were arrested on November 1 and 2 on suspicion of criminal damage.”
But can you find out what happened after to them? Will they have made full redress to those whose property they damaged?