00:00Ever felt unsafe walking home, or even through a built-up area?
00:04A new app from the One Maidstone Business Improvement District might be able to fix that.
00:10WalkSafe, a joint collaboration between One Maidstone, Kent Police and SwitchU Services
00:16is trying to make Maidstone a safer environment for all.
00:19The WalkSafe app was predominantly made to tackle violence against women and girls but
00:24the app is for everyone to download, anyone using the town centre, whether that's walking
00:29to and from school, commuting or using it as part of our night time economy venue.
00:34The app is straightforward and easy to use. Open up the map and it will show you safe spaces
00:40from banks to independent businesses all along your journey home.
00:44A safe space scheme has already been in operation across Kent, but utilising the app WalkSafe,
00:50which covers many areas across the UK, now allows these places in Maidstone to be seen
00:55and easily accessed by the wider public.
00:58So we're always trying to look to improve the local area, local community and safety initiatives
01:03and it all spiralled from introducing safe spaces in the Maidstone town centre.
01:08And my big question was, well if we have safe spaces, how do people know about them?
01:12And that's when I found the WalkSafe app and therefore we've introduced it to make it
01:16easier for people to access safe spaces as well as have a safe journey home.
01:22One Maidstone represents the businesses of Maidstone, so we're a business improvement district.
01:26So everything that we deliver is fundamentally financed and on behalf of the businesses of Maidstone.
01:33So walking the WalkSafe app for example with Kent Police is an initiative and an example of one
01:39of our partnership pieces of work. We work consistently with Kent Police on a number of initiatives.
01:46Personal safety, particularly for women, remains a pertinent issue with many young girls feeling
01:52unsafe walking home at night.
01:54I try to avoid going out at night if I can and if I do then I go out with like a group of people
02:00or there's definitely more than just me going out at night.
02:03Every time I like walk by myself at night I always look behind me to make sure like if it's dark,
02:09like if it's dark and I look behind me I make sure no one is there.
02:12I think it's fine, it's safe here walking alone home but sometimes when you are with friends it's
02:21it's better like you feel more sick.
02:23In July 2025 alone, Kent Police reported 3,691 incidents of antisocial behaviour and 6,500 counts
02:34of violence and sexual offences in the wider Maidstone area.
02:38We can only hope that the new WalkSafe app in Maidstone can start to reduce some of these figures.
02:44This is Megan Shaw for KMTV in Maidstone.
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