Police have been seeking to reassure residents and traders over claims Rochester High Street has the highest level of crime in the county.

The unwanted label of Kent’s worst crime blackspot had originally come from the force’s own media officers but now senior officers at Medway say it isn’t true.

The story in Monday’s print edition of the Medway Messenger came after police in Thanet said Marine Parade in Margate had been overtaken in the crime statistics by ‘a street in Medway’.

A Medway police spokesman revealed that road as being Rochester High Street. But now senior officers have dismissed that claim, saying crime is actually falling there and the comparison is unfair.

Chief Insp Des Keers said: “The claims portrayed the wrong image of Rochester and it has potentially caused serious damage to the area’s reputation.

“The true facts speak for themselves and crime levels across Medway continue to fall. In reality there are 1,105 less victims of crime in Medway compared with last year.”

Kent Police in Medway is issuing a letter to 115,000 households in the area explaining the levels of crime and offering residents the opportunity to be kept up to date with how safe Medway actually is.

Kent Police state incidents on Medway’s High Streets and other busy main roads have fallen significantly over the past two years and continue to do so.

Police figures show between January and October 2008 there have been 249 reports of all crime on Rochester High Street, including everything from criminal damage to violent crime. This total figure is the equivalent to 5.7 crimes a week.

There were 293 reports for the same period of 2007, representing a 15 per cent reduction in all crime.

Senior officers say an additional 15,000 people visit Medway to socialise each weekend and less than 10 incidents are reported.

A spokesman said: “Rochester High Street is one of the busiest roads in Kent, by the very nature of its location and attractiveness to visitors it is an area of Medway that requires our presence on a regular basis.

“Police continue to work closely with the residents and businesses based in Rochester and the road even has its own dedicated PCSO. Feedback is generally positive and people are happy with the police service they receive.”

Chief Insp Keers added: “The real truth is Medway has never been a safer place to live, work and socialise, and we have worked tirelessly with partner agencies and the Safer Medway Partnership over recent years to make this the case.

“We know crime and anti-social behaviour remains an issue for local communities and we will continue to reduce the number of all incidents across the area.”