PCSO plea to police minister

Marianne Overton - Lincolnshire Independents

The county force’s chief constable Chris Haward plans to cut the number of Police Community Support Officers from 91 to 50, a move opposed by the Lincolnshire Independent group, led by county and district councillor Marianne Overton from Wellingore.

Coun Overton said “The move away from neighbourhood policing is a short-sighed sticking plaster to accommodate the costs of more police from a budget that is simply too small. The chief constable should be clear that the Lincolnshire force is at the bottom and can cut no further. It must be properly funded.”

District and town councillor for Sleaford, Robert Oates, said: “This cut will result in 41 fewer PCSOs on our streets, putting hard-won gains against crime and anti-social behaviour at risk. This news has been received very badly in communities across our county, which are all afraid that they will see an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour.”

Coun Overton added: “In Lincolnshire, we wanted PCSOs because they are neighbourhood-based, with the purpose of heading off incidents and avoiding criminal actions. PCSOs build trust and relationships and give community reassurance. They deal with victims of anti-social behaviour; help keep young people in schools and clubs and on the straight and narrow. If smaller crimes are not treated, they develop into bigger crimes. Much of this preventative work does not register as incidents. PCSOs are great value for money, and any funding reduction should be made in back-room operations, not frontline policing.

“We need secure long-term funding, not the current inefficient stop, start approach. Some PCSOs were only recruited last October and just completed their training.”

The matter was raised at the latest police and crime panel with members urging the chief constable and the police and crime commissioner Marc Jones to work with the Government and Lincolnshire partners to keep the PCSO’s team intact.

Chief constable Haward has explained the money from the lost PCSOs will be used to fund staff elsewhere in the force, including nine new safeguarding police staff tackling domestic violence, 12 detectives working on vulnerable children and adults, 15 call takers and five professional standards staff.

Mr Jones told councillors: “The challenges are, that while providing the largest budget we’ve ever seen for Lincolnshire Police, the force are not immune to the same challenges that every one of our households and every resident is facing, whether that’s increasing fuel costs, heating costs or other pressures.”

The chief constable added: “The vast majority of our police officer uplift has gone into frontline uniformed services focused on the areas where there is greatest demand and where we have the need. The PCSO decision is a really hard decision. It’s not one I would have taken had l been able to do something different.”