KENT'S new Chief Constable Michael Fuller reaffirmed his commitment to tackling quality of life issues after taking up the post today.

The 44-year old married father of two, speaking at a press conference at Kent Police Headquarters in Maidstone, said there would be no quick fix solutions.

He said: "I want officers engaged in tackling serious and organised crime while ensuring there is the visibility that people want. But we have to ensure that whatever we do is done with the long term in mind and not a knee jerk reaction. It has got to be sustainable."

He said beating the scourge of graffiti and vandalism would not detract from the force's ability to tackle more serious crime.

The halving of vehicle and burglaries over the past seven years had given him more scope to refocus some resources on anti-social crime.

Mr Fuller said he was also keen to use his experience in London to tackle major crime issues, including the emergence of crack cocaine problems in North Kent.

He said: "I have seen the problems crack cocaine can cause and am very keen to get to grips with the potential problems that this drug could bring."

Mr Fuller, awarded a Queen's Police Medal in the New Year's Honours list after 26 years with the Metropolitan Police, said he had spent recent weeks getting up to speed with the issues affecting the county.

He said: "I have spent the last three months looking around the force, getting an opportunity to speak to people who live in Kent and a feel for what is going on and to listen.

"It is early days yet but I am very keen to tackle anti-social behaviour, particularly those quality of life issues which are of big concern to the people of Kent.

"There is a feeling Kent Police are not tackling problems as much as people would like, with people in rural areas saying they do not get the same level of policing as urban areas.

"I am very keen, in terms of recruiting police community support officers, to ensure that people feel protected and that they get their due level of policing.

"The level of satisfaction people have in the county can be seen in the post-bag that the Chief Constable gets. I would like to think that whoever is Chief Constable in ten years time won't get the level of letters I have received, even before my arrival."

One of his first decisions as Chief Constable was to launch a force wide review looking at maximising the numbers of officers on front-line duty.

He said: "I am not going to make promises to increase the numbers of bobbies on the beat. That is not something I can do.

"I have asked my team for a review of officers who aren't on patrol duties to see if there is any scope to increase the numbers out on the street."

Officers will look at the experience of other forces in tackling anti-social behaviour to see if any initiatives can be brought to Kent.

Mr Fuller said he wanted to see more sector led style of policing following what he described as a more community approach.

This approach has already been introduced in some areas, including Medway, but the Chief Constable said he was keen to see it spread county-wide.