The number of Police Community Support Officers on patrol in Kent is set to nearly double within three months.
And police chiefs are planning to meet with a government minister to make the case for extra money to recruit more PCSOs.
But rank-and-file police are disappointed the cash is not being spent on boosting their numbers instead.
The recruitment of the PCSOs in Kent has proven controversial because they have no power of arrest. There are currently 222 PCSOs in the county, and their ranks are set to swell to 382 by the end of July.
The Home Office originally promised Kent Police Authority funding for an extra 474 PCSOs, to be recruited by the end of this month, but then slashed the funding so they could only afford 273.
Ann Barnes, the authority's chairman, and Kent's Chief Constable Michael Fuller are meeting police minister Tony McNulty on May 23 to ask for more cash.
Mrs Barnes said: "The authority has made a commitment to the taxpayers of Kent that by 2008 every neighbourhood across the county will have a named uniformed contact. It's very important we keep this commitment."
The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file police, has called for the money to be used to recruit normal officers with full powers instead.
Ian Pointon, chairman of the Kent branch of the federation, said: "For 382 PCSOs we could have two thirds of that number as police officers, which would be far, far better for policing in Kent.
"You get all the flexibility with a police officer that you don't with a PCSO. You get far more bangs for your buck."
Among their powers, PCSOs can issue fixed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour such as littering or graffiti and confiscate alcohol and cigarettes from young people.
They earn between £19,672 and £23,056 a year.
POSTED: 29/04/2007 02:00:00
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