Police happy with their performance

They say tackling burglary and fear of burglary is a top priority for policing this year, while speeding traffic remains a major concern for villages in the Rye area.

Burglary actually increased by a small 3.13 percent margin last year but police had notable successes in catching burglars in Rye Harbour, Fairlight and Playden.

They also tracked down the arsonist who torched the sports pavilion on Rye Salts, who is currently serving a five year prison sentence.

There were 301 speed gun checks this year, compared to 189 in 2009 and more than 1,000 warning letters were sent out to motorists.

There are currently 28 authorised speedgun sites in the Rye area and 34 speed indicator device sites, which flash warnings at motorists to slow down.

Police launched a number of operations last year including Operation Marble, which focused on high profile policing in Rye town centre on Friday and Saturday nights, and Operation Radcott, which concentrated on Camber during the busy summer months.

Police say that illegal parking at Camber during the summer is still of concern to residents but introduced a number of initiatives to ease the pressure. A total of 128 parking tickets were issued during the school holidays and a number of Section 59 warnings were handed out for quad biking on the beach and anti-social jet-skiing.

During the summer 169 missing children were reunite with their parents at Camber Sands as a result of the operation.

Another police initiative launched last year was Quality Street, which saw detailed surveys taking place in different areas every three months. Rye and Playden are among areas surveyed so far.

The surveys include talking to residents about their fears and concerns and working with other bodies, such as the Youth Development Service, to address issues.

The Police Priority Setting Panel for Rye has identified a number of main priorities including cracking down on parking at The Mint and Landgate and tackling late night anti-social behaviour at The Mint.

Another priority is to continue dealing with low level criminal damage throughout the town, including graffiti.