Kent police are being forced to shave £8m off the budget for 2010/11 - but bobbies on the beat should not be targeted.

A Kent Police Authority meeting (Wednesday) revealed the force had a budget of £285m, but it needed to cut a huge swathe from that.

It hopes to make most of the savings from so-called support and back office costs. But it will also carry out a root and branch review of all police services.

Speaking after the meeting, authority chief executive Mark Gilmartin said: “We will do everything we possibly can to ensure we maintain those (police) numbers, and part of our initiatives will be a major review of the force’s structure.”

The meeting also announced a 2.99 per cent increase in the police share of the council tax. For the average band D house that would mean an extra 8p a week - or £4 a year - on their police bill of around £138 a year.

But it said it had set the second lowest precept - or police council tax - of any shire authority in England and Wales - and the increase was the lowest for around 10 years.

The police precept is added to other council services to make up your council tax bill.

Also in the meeting, the authority made a policing pledge to improve certain services. These included a promise for police to better serve victims of crime.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Gilmartin said: “There is a commitment from the chief and the force to shift to an arrangement where every single victim of crime receives a visit from Kent police, and in any incident where the victim is vulnerable they will get a visit from Kent police.”

Neighbourhood and task teams would be protected, he said, and communications would be improved with the public.

Kent will get a new chief constable within months.

The news comes after Mike Fuller announced his resignation from the force from April. He will take up the post of HM Crown Prosecution Service Chief Inspector.

Until a permanent successor is chosen, deputy chief constable Adrian Leppard will stand in as acting chief.

Kent police authority chief executive Mark Gilmartin said adverts had been placed in police journals, with the authority expected to assess candidates towards the latter part of May, and install Kent’s most senior police officer by the end of the summer.