THE Chief Constable of Kent Michael Fuller has said he believes he has made the county safer in his six years as head of the force.

Mr Fuller, who announced on Tuesday he is retiring to take the role of chief inspector at the Crown Prosecution Service, said his policies had led to a fall in crime and more police on the streets.

He said his achievements included increasing the number of officers by 263 and community support officers by 329, as well as civilian staff by 485.

He also said the number of reported crimes had reduced by 22.9 per cent from 102,819 crimes reported a year to 79,276.

Mr Fuller said: "When I came to Kent I had a vision for policing that included a much more neighbourhood focused approach, with closer working with the local communities across the county.

"We have achieved that and worked with our partners to make Kent one of the safest places to live.

"Each policing district now has its own dedicated neighbourhood task team in addition to the neighbourhood policing teams.

"Each are able to rapidly respond to public concerns, and is just one example of the way in which we are tackling and driving down anti-social behaviour.

"The latest Home Office figures, released last week, show a significant drop in crime across Kent and this continues a downward trend that we have managed to achieve with partners since I became chief constable."

Mr Fuller added he was proud to have overseen the investigation into the Securitas raid at Tonbridge in 2006, Britain's biggest cash robbery and the conviction of six of the gang.

He said: "I will be leaving Kent with a sense of sadness after six very enjoyable years and I would like to pay tribute to all the officers and staff of the Kent Force for their hard work and dedication."

Mr Fuller will take up his new post in April 2010.

His deputy, Adrian Leppard, will serve as interim chief constable until a permanent replacement is appointed.