Cheshire East Council is urging the county’s Chief Constable to scrap plans which could see up to 70% of the county’s PCSOs axed, writes Belinda Ryan.
All but one of the 69 councillors present at the latest full council backed a notice of motion from Wybunbury Cllr Janet Clowes and Cllr Julie Smith calling for plans to axe 60 of the 87 roles to be rescinded.
The call comes after Cheshire Police launched an internal consultation to save £13 million over the next four years through reducing PCSOs (police community support officers) and redistributing warranted police officers into neighbourhood policing teams.
Cllr Smith said: “PCSOs are neighbourhood policing.
“They’re the visible face of our police force. They are human facial recognition and their role within our communities must not be underestimated.
“At the start of every shift, our PCSO in Handforth posts on social media.
“The post includes his photograph, phone number, an email address and a brief rundown of his itinerary for the day.
“This is then shared to 10 community Facebook pages, which are accessed by more than 4,000 members.
“This is neighbourhood policing.
“The reassurance that our residents have, that they can contact a police officer there and then, should they need them.
“We have been told that this invaluable service is to be replaced by a warranted neighbourhood officer who can only be contacted by an email or a 20-minute call to 101, both of which, in my personal experience, have failed miserably in recent months.”
Cllr Clowes said Chief Constable Mark Roberts’ plans to cut the number of PCSOs seemed to directly contradict government policy.
“The neighbourhood policing guarantee clearly states that rebuilding the links between police forces and our communities will be achieved by delivering additional neighbourhood warranted officers and PCSOs.
“This is not a choice between warranted officers and PCSOs, but a required rise in both designations,” she said.
“A decision to reduce PCSOs by a whopping 70% appears to be contrary to the objectives of the national program.”
The Wybunbury councillor added: “What the hard quantitative, strategic or financial data cannot adequately portray is the qualitative value of the PCSO role in our communities…
“In particular, the role of PCSOs in our rural communities cannot be underestimated, and it is difficult to understand how their roles can be replicated by warranted officers across large geographical areas.
“The value of the role is immense.”
The notice of motion will now be sent to the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner Dan Price.
I have already commented on this ridiculous motion, and nowhere in it is there any mention of paying for any “required rise in both designations”… the only certainty in any of this is Cheshire East doesn’t have a brass farthing to offer to resolve the funding issues.
So less wind and more sensible government from Cheshire East Council, please!
PCSO = civilian member of staff (employed)
Police officer = warranted Crown servant
No contest.
PCSOs are a waste of time, usually lardy and couldn’t fight a cold if any trouble occurs