Blunkett promises more policemen for a 'visible presence' on streets

David Blunkett pledged yesterday to boost police numbers beyond their current "historic" levels and to push forward far-reaching reforms of the service.

The Home Secretary said that more than 132,500 police officers would be deployed within the next two years, supported by increased community service officers and street wardens to create a "visible presence on the streets".

Front-line officers would get bonuses for patrolling rough crime-ridden areas to free them from the "red tape which is delaying them in the police station", Mr Blunkett said.

But he said the "police cannot win the battle against crime alone" and said that "regeneration and renewal" of communities was vital in stopping antisocial behaviour. Mr Blunkett also sought to shrug off the accusation that he is an authoritarian minister who has pandered to the anti-immigration rhetoric of the right.

Last month, he courted controversy by suggesting immigrants speak English as well as their native language at home. But yesterday, he attacked the BNP and said that by tackling illegal immigration he would reduce the appeal of the far right. "Let us be clear and confident about our purpose. We are offering centre-left solutions to issues that our voters care about, fighting off the threat from the far right, not occupying their ground," he said.

"Racism has not been eliminated in this country. We still have more to do to have a tolerant and decent society, more to do to see off racists and build communities and neighbourhoods which are at ease with one another."

Mr Blunkett said immigration was a positive force but he believed more must be done to decrease tension between ethnic groups. "Securing our borders against illegal immigrants while offering a safe haven to refugees is crucial. We are also determined to make the case for managed migration – immigration benefits our country and we should say so with confidence," he said.

He announced plans to tighten the sex offenders register so that paedophiles and rapists convicted abroad have to put their names on the list. The 18,500 on the register will have to confirm details with the police every year instead of every five years – a proposal designed to stop them disappearing from police scrutiny and launching new attacks. Any sex offenders who fail to comply with the law could face up to five years in prison.