Lib Dems' appeal to spare PCSOs from mayor's axe
BRISTOL'S Liberal Democrats have made a plea to mayor George Ferguson to save the city's police community support officers.
Mr Ferguson plans to axe all 32 PCSOs who are paid for by the council – another 80 in the city are funded by the police – in his proposed £35-million budget cuts.
But Lib Dem leader Tim Kent is urging Mr Ferguson to consider a compromise – whereby the council would fund 20 PCSOs and for the city to seek support from Police Commissioner Sue Mountstevens to fund the other 12 posts.
This would mean the council would need to find an extra £300,000 this year to fund the posts.
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The Lib Dems are suggesting a £42,000 saving could be made by reductions in energy use for street lighting, £50,000 could come from a service review within the council's neighbourhoods and communities team and the rest would come from the council's housing revenue account, which uses tenants' rent payments for, among other things, repairs and maintenance.
The reason for using housing funds is to recognise the role the PCSOs play in the fight against anti-social behaviour on Bristol's estates.
Former police commissioner candidate Pete Levy, who is a Lib Dem ward councillor for Horfield, is taking part in cross-party talks set up by the mayor to examine the issue. These talks will not be completed until the end of next week. In the meantime, the Lib Dems have submitted an amendment to the proposed budget and have launched an on-line petition protesting against the suggested cuts to PCSOs.
Mr Kent said: "We're not trying to tie anyone's hands about this. There is room for manoeuvre. I just want to make it clear that we want to save as many PCSO posts as we can, but we do recognise the enormous pressures on George Ferguson's budget."
Mr Kent is writing to Mrs Mountstevens, urging her to find the funding to protect PCSO posts.
Mr Kent said: "We in Bristol have been behind the whole PCSO project from the start, backing their introduction and helping to fund them. In hard times, we are urging the police commissioner to help foot the bill."
When Mr Ferguson first announced his proposed budget cuts, he said that PCSOs were ultimately the responsibility of the police and therefore the force should fund them.
Councillors will be meeting on February 26 to decide next year's civic budget.
3 Comments
by FromMendip
Friday, January 25 2013, 8:16PM
“This comment is in no way meant to impugn the commitment of PCSOs as a group. They and the police service in general have been put in an almost impossible position because the PCSO role was never fully thought out when the post was introduced.
This leads to different police forces deploying them in different ways: some police forces use PCSOs in a quasi police role, though their powers are minimal, and others see them as a sort of uniformed social contact between the mainstream constabulary and the public.
Now that police starting pay is to be reduced to £19,000 per year and some senior PCSOs earn around this sort of money, there is a strong argument for the PCSO posts to become police constable posts.
That's not to say that all existing PCSOs would become police constables. Some would not be suitable and some would not want to. It would have to be a rolling programme with PCSOs not replaced as such when they left.”
by BrizBilly
Friday, January 25 2013, 10:44AM
“i agree with welliedog2... dont fund them George. The police need to use the money they already get out of our council tax better.”
by welliedog2
Friday, January 25 2013, 10:02AM
“I don't mean to sound trite, but these PSCO's are a bit of a joke really.
They are little more than traffic wardens and I can't see what value they add.
If I was being attacked or robbed would I be relieved when a PCSO arrived?
NO.
Would I feel relieved when a Police Office arrived?
YES.
I actually agree with Uncle George on this.
My understanding is that a Police Officer's salary is around about £20-22k per year and a PCSO salary is around £16-18k per year.
I''d rather see the PCSO busy bodies disbanded altogether and the saving put towards hiring a smaller number of better paid REAL Police Officers.
Failing that, just get rid of them and pay the police a bit more money, they deserve it.”