CRIMINAL families, bootleggers and asylum seekers are now the three areas of greatest concern to Kent, according to the county's Chief Constable, Sir David Phillips.

Another challenge facing Sir David is convincing the public that packing the streets with uniformed police officers does not work. Sir David has called for greater community intergration of asylum seekers before ghettos start springing up in the county.

The chief constable went on to stress that ruthless criminal families were already at work in Kent and had little regard for the police and public safety. He said: "They operate like bandits in Kent. They are well-known criminal families, they are connected, they are completely ruthless."

Sir David said members of the crime families were often armed, sped around in stolen vehicles and were often beyond the reach of the police unless changes were made to the Criminal Justice System.

He added: "We are so fenced in by technicalities of the Justice System that it is almost impossible to bring these people to book and they do represent a real threat even though they are small in number."

The Chief Constable said smuggling of contraband such as tobacco and alcohol and human smuggling was another growing problem for Kent. He added: "We have seen a great expansion of people involved in crimes that are not recorded as crime.

"Many of them are known as bootleggers who bring in tobacco and alcohol and that covers all crimes of intimidation, coercion and corruption that is a part of organised crime."

Sir David said the illegal commodity trade had become an increasing threat because it crossed international boundaries and legal systems that were too complex for our own legal system to deal with.