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News Release 29th November 2004COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICERS? WE NEED MORE PCsMichael Fabricant says Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are no substitute for more police officers. "While I welcome the five police community support officers heading for the Trent Valley Division, they are better than nothing, let's not kid ourselves. They have no powers of arrest and are no substitute for regular police officers. It is a lack of funding for the police authority and Government policy that is forcing Staffordshire Police to appoint PCSOs instead of the real thing. A Conservative Government would add 40,000 more police officers in England and Wales which would mean that funding would be provided for an extra 670 policemen and women for the Staffordshire Police service. That would make a real difference in places like Lichfield and Burntwood. "My fear is that on a Friday or Saturday night, PCSOs will find themselves in an impossible situation with rowdy youths. With no powers of arrest and with limited training compared with that of police officers, they may not have time to summon assistance. Given that the Government does not wish to increase the size of the police force to the levels needed, I have to wonder why they did not consider building up the Special Constabulary instead. Special Constables have the same powers of arrest as regular police officers and similar training. They have done a fantastic job in Lichfield. I believe that if the Government had funded additional payments to special constables instead of setting up PCSOs, the chronic shortages in special constables could have been overcome." |
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