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Footage captured on Harry
Weaver's mobile phone

by Lynn Cox

The parents of a teenage boy have
told how he captured footage on his mobile phone of a police
officer telling him and his friends they were "scum".

The group was approached by officers
who were patrolling Liberty Park, near Wainscott, where residents
have been complaining about antisocial behaviour and criminal
damage.

Police have stepped up activity on the
housing estate in a bid to sort out the problems, as previously
reported in the Messenger.

It is thought some of the youths who
may have been causing the trouble live in homes set aside on the
development for affordable housing, which are managed by West Kent
Housing Association.

The association says it is aware of
the problems and has joined with police to pay for a CCTV camera so
offenders can be identified.

Harry Weaver, 14, was out with his
friends on Sunday when they were approached by two officers.

One of the children asks the officers
why they are asking them questions, to which the officer replies,
"You lot round here are the scum of the estate."

When the children object, he then
tells them it’s his opinion. The children then say that they could
call him "scum" too, to which the officer replies; "Okay, I’ll take
that."

It is understood the matter will be
referred to the Kent Police professional standards committee for
investigation.

Harry’s parents, Peter and Margaret
Weaver, who live in Gold Drive, say there is a big divide on the
estate between homeowners and tenants.

They told their son to start filming what the police were
doing as he kept coming home telling them officers were stopping
him constantly. He returned home to show his parents footage
captured on his phone.

Mrs Weaver, 48, said: "The police
officer should not talk to children like that and we are not scum.
We have complained to Kent Police about the language he uses."

"I guess there are some youngsters on
the estate who do cause trouble, but not all the children who live
here should be labelled in the same bracket, Harry is not a
troublemaker."

The Weavers also think the police are
too heavy-handed with their patrols.

Mr Weaver, 51, claimed he saw a police
patrol car pass by their home at least 43 times in one night.

He added: "Last weekend, officers came
to arrest a young girl and there were 13 cars and two police vans
on the estate.

"All the police presence is just
frustrating the children, it does seem to be very
heavy-handed."

Police say they have been getting
positive feedback from people living on the estate and the incident
will be thoroughly investigated.

Medway District Commander Chief Insp
Mark Arnold said: "Police are responding to concerns raised by the
community about young people persistently causing a nuisance in the
Liberty Park area.

"Our response is to provide highly
visible and robust policing to reassure local residents and to
deter crime and antisocial behaviour.

"This includes our officers patrolling
on foot and talking to people of all ages.

"This allows us to build up a rapport
and has already generated a good deal of positive feedback from the
community.

"We expect high standards from all of
our officers and will thoroughly investigate all cases where these
standards have not been met."