By Richard Johnstone | 28 April 2014
More than one in five police community support officer jobs in England have been cut since the coalition government came to power in 2010, a study of police numbers by Unison has revealed.
The trade union found the number of PCSOs was down by more than 3,500 in nearly four years following an analysis of the Home Office’s police service strength data.
Across the 39 police forces in England, 34 have reduced their number of community officers, according to the figures.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis warned neighbourhood policing was ‘dying on the beat’ as a result of government cuts to the funding of police services.
‘PSCOs play a key role in intelligence gathering, tackling minor crimes and anti social behaviour,’ he said. ‘They are a reassuring and deterring visible presence in our streets, and without them crime is likely to rise.’
Claims by the government that frontline policing would be protected from budget cuts were in tatters, he added.
‘The cuts on neighbourhood teams are putting the public safety into jeopardy. That is why we are calling on the government to fund and maintain neighbourhood policing teams at their 2010 level.
‘Because the fall in the number of police community support officers will impact on how safe people are, we also want theInspectorate of Constabulary to investigate neighbourhood policing to see how the cuts have affected the quality of the service.’
The overall percentage reduction in PCSOs in England is 22%, but this increased to more than 49% in London, 31% in Merseyside and 28% in Essex. In total, nine forces have reduced the numbers by more than 20%.
Responding to the report, a Home Office spokeswoman said: ‘The government strongly supports neighbourhood policing, which provides a visible presence in communities, cutting crime and disorder. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has made clear that there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels or the visibility of the police in the community.
‘It is for chief constables to decide how neighbourhood policing teams are resourced and deployed and for Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure forces are delivering on the issues that matter to local people.’
