A major change in the way crime is tackled is about to hit the streets with more bobbies on the beat and stations open for longer.

Neighbourhood policing teams (NPTs) will be launched across West Sussex on Monday, putting more officers on the beat.

Four new commanders have been put in charge of reducing crime as part of a force-wide review by Sussex Chief Constable Ken Jones.

Chief Inspector Martin Walker will run Adur; Chief Insp Russ Whitfield takes charge of Worthing; Chief Insp Steve Whitton is responsible for Arun and Acting Chief Insp Brain Bracher takes over in Chichester.

They have promised that people living from Southwick to Chichester will see a more visible and locally-based service.

Extra officers have been recruited to help provide a 24-hour emergency response and ensure they are in the right place at the right time to prevent crime and catch criminals.

There are also plans to extend the opening hours of police stations.

Each NPT will be supported by locally-based detectives and other staff including licensing officers, crime prevention advisers and school liaison officers.

The police districts have been changed to cover the same areas as local councils, allowing them to work more closely together to tackle local issues.

Mr Walker said: "As district commander I am personally responsible for delivering high quality policing in Adur. It is an extremely safe place to live and work in but, despite this, crime has risen steadily in the last four years while nationally it has fallen.

"Where people commit crime in Adur we will hunt them down and catch them. We will also work with the community to remove the causes of crime and to build long-term initiatives to improve people's quality of life.

"We have dramatically increased the number of locally-based officers who know and will be known by the community.

"Neighbourhood policing teams will work around the clock to catch anyone committing crime or causing disorder."