MORE uniformed police will be on patrol across neighbourhoods in all parts of the county over the next three years under one of the biggest shake-ups seen in the force for decades.

Kent Police has unveiled details of ambitious plans to more than double the number of police community support officers - PCSOs - across Kent and Medway over the next two years.

The force says that by 2008, it aims to have recruited around 360 more police community support officers (PCSOs) to work in its neighbourhood teams, as part of a continuing drive to develop what chief constable Mike Fuller describes as a "visible and accessible" force.

Speaking exclusively to the KM Group, Mr Fuller defended the role PCSOs played in the fight against crime and said they were not a substitute for regular officers.

He also revealed how he had used a briefing with the Prime Minister to emphasise how funding had to continue for community officers if neighbourhood-based policing was to work.

"They [PCSOs] are not there to be police officers. Their role is different and the advantage of having them is that they provide a sustainable presence in the community. We are not taking them away from neighbourhoods to deal with those things that regular police officers do," he said.

Often people reluctant to talk to regular officers would talk to community support officers, who have no arrest powers.

"The fact that PCSOs do not have the power to arrest does not mean they are any less effective. Actually, people often find them more approachable. We can show that in our priority areas there has been a significant reduction in crime where PCSOs are employed."

They had been particularly successful in tackling low level disorder and anti-social behaviour, often by helping co-ordinate the work of other agencies, he added.

"People tell me that when there are uniformed officers and PCSOs, they have made a real difference in tackling low-level disorder because they are a regular presence on the street," he said.

Around 70 of the new PCSOs are expected to be in post by the start of next year, with recruitment for the others phased in. Each of the force’s six new policing areas will, under the plan, have between 50 and 80 by April 2008.