New Kent Police Chief Constable Tim Smith claims he is not afraid to bring to book errant officers who break the law.

Smith was officially appointed on December 6 after working as acting chief constable since October 3.

Alan Pughsley had stepped down in September after nine years in charge.

Smith said a key part of his strategy was an “internal focus” to ensure staff behave to the standards that the public expect.

He told the BBC:”I’m talking thankfully about a very, very small minority of Kent Police staff, but those that do breach those standards, we do deal with them robustly.

“We are answerable to the criminal laws of this land – the same as every other member of the public.

“Though it gives me absolutely no pleasure to say it, we have had to arrest on occasions police officers, and indeed we’ve charged police officers with serious criminal offences over this last year.”

Smith was formerly the force’s deputy chief constable.

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He has been a police officer for more than 30 years and was part of the team who investigated the raid at the Securitas depot in Tonbridge in 2006 – Britain’s biggest cash robbery.

Since Pughsley’s appointment, the force appears to have shelved the usual convention of giving the top job to an up and coming officer from outside the county.

Smith says that the foirce will be force to make £30m of cuts over the next four years due to public finance cuts.

Hed said: “That’s a significant amount of money, so I’ve got to work very hard with my senior leaders to work out how can we continue to deliver all these services to the level that we want and the public deserve, while also making those savings.”