KENT neighbourhoods are to have their own uniformed rapid response police units to battle anti-social behaviour - but at an extra cost to tax payers.

The Kent Police Authority (KPA) on Wednesday announced it was increasing police council tax contributions by 4.99 per cent to fund new areas of investment, representing an extra £6 per year, or 12p a week, for the average band D household.

The total police budget for the year has been set at £266.9million - a £9million increase on last year. Around 30 per cent of the budget will be funded by the taxpayer and the rest comes from central government.

Vice chairman of KPA Mike Hill said: “The contribution from the Government enables us to remain at a standstill, so we needed the precept increase to fund improvements and move forward.

“We are delighted to be able to fund improvements recommended not only by the Chief Constable, but also by the people of Kent through public consultations.”

KPA governs policing at a local level, and is responsible for setting police council tax, agrees the annual budget and scrutinises police performance. It cannot green-light tax increases above five per cent without being capped by the Home Office.

Kent Police saw an overall reduction in crime of 10 per cent in the last year, but tackling anti-social behaviour remains one of the force’s biggest priorities and a major concern for the county’s residents, and KPA said this was reflected in this year’s budget.

From September, neighbourhood task teams will be introduced in the county’s six policing areas - West Kent, East Kent, Mid Kent, South Kent, North Kent and Medway

The teams of uniformed police officers will back up PCSOs and Community Wardens tackling anti-social behaviour and are likely to be deployed to crime "hot-spots" in an effort to alleviate ongoing problems long-term.

The authority will also invest in ten new roles for police officers to help supervise and monitor known offenders in the county, and will fund more resource to help improve the way in which police store, record and delete data, in line with recommendations to all UK police forces following the 2002 Soham murders.

Kent Police Chief Constable Mike Fuller said: “I am really pleased with KPA’s decision to fund the initiatives we recommended, and I’m sure our area commanders will be pleased to be given more tools to tackle these problems.

“Anti-social behaviour is one of the county’s biggest concerns, and without an increase to the precept, the scheme wouldn’t be viable.

“People will be paying more, but they will be getting more in return.”