Michael Fuller plans to make tackling drugs a priority

Michael Fuller, 44, a deputy assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police, plans to make tackling drug-related crime a priority - and to give the force a more caring and visible image.

Four years ago the father-of-two became the first black member of the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Now he is the first black person to take the top job in any police force.

Mr Fuller said: "I am delighted with my appointment, and I am looking forward to the challenge of being the chief constable of Kent.

"I am grateful for the innovative work of my predecessors and I welcome the opportunity to work with the men and women of Kent Police, which is one of the most effective and proficient forces in the country."

'One step at a time'

Chief Inspector Leroy Logan, chairman of the Black Police Officers Association, said the appointment was good news but did not mean that problems for ethnic minority police officers had gone away.

He said: "It's important that we take one step at a time and we keep the pressure on the organisation and the police authorities and say there are black police officers just as capable as their white counterparts to lead a force area or even the Met.

"I would like to think in my lifetime, there would be a black police officer willing and able to take on that role."

He said that people from ethnic minorities should respond to callings to join the police, but added: "You have to understand the ferocity that the organisation can throw at you, especially if you are willing to stand up against the chill factor in the organisation and against other people being devalued and dehumanised."

'Best candidate'

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw says Mr Fuller's appointment is being seen as a milestone for Kent Police.

It will go some way to allaying concerns which have resurfaced in the last two weeks about the treatment and promotion of black officers in the service, our correspondent adds.

The Kent Police Authority insisted its decision was nothing to do with ethnicity and that Mr Fuller was simply the best of their final four candidates.

A authority spokesman said the move was a tremendous message to Kent and the rest of the country.

Mr Fuller was behind the drugs strategy for the Metropolitan Police.

Tough approach

He is planning to bring that tough approach to Kent, while also making the force seem more family-orientated.

He joined the Metropolitan Police as a cadet in 1975, going on to serve in Special Branch, CID and to set up the Racial and Violent Crimes Task Force in 1998.

He has also headed Operation Trident, which targets gun-related crime within the black community and is currently the director of intelligence at Scotland Yard.

His salary will be �120,000 a year, starting in January 2004.