Plastic police bill scandal
COMMUNITY support officers – known as “plastic policemen” – cost up to £1.2million for each crime they detect, it was revealed yesterday.
Critics dismissed the officers, who do not even have powers of arrest, as an expensive replacement for real policemen.
Public spending campaigner Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The whole programme seems to have been a device for politicians who know the public want a visible police force as a deterrent but don’t really think it works.
“It seems like both the law-abiding public and criminals know that they are just not the same as a full police officer.
“Visible policing is important, but the answer is having police officers on the beat rather than spending such a huge amount of time on paperwork, not cheap substitutes who can’t do the same job.”
The failure of the officers – PCSOs – to solve enough crimes was revealed in damning figures released under Freedom of Information legislation. In the most extreme example, it emerged that Nottinghamshire police spent almost £7million on wages for 265 PCSOs who detected just six crimes in the last year.
The 311 support officers in South Wales, who landed their force with a £9.3million wage bill, detected only eight crimes.
Police forces defended the officers, insisting that their main role was to be visible and provide reassurance to the public.
Roy Skanes, secretary of the Essex Police Federation, warned that public sector cuts could force authorities to think again about the role of support officers.
“We’d rather lose PCSOs before warranted officers,” he said.
“Warranted officers can do so much more and while PCSOs wear a uniform, the public is unaware of how little they can do.
“It’s smoke and mirrors – if you put lots of security people out on the street wearing uniforms it makes the public feel safer. But are they safer?”
There are about 16,000 PCSOs in England and Wales, on salaries starting from £16,000 up to about £25,000 in London.
They do not have the power of arrest and cannot process prisoners or investigate crimes.
However, they do have a range of powers, including issuing fixed penalty notices, such as for littering or dog fouling. They can confiscate alcohol in public places and seize drugs.
A chief constable can assign them extra powers, including carrying out personal searches, dispersing groups on the streets and dealing with beggars.
The latest figures show that the cost of PCSOs per crime in Nottinghamshire rose from £354,000 in 2008-09, when they detected 19 crimes, to £6.7million in 2009-10.
In South Wales, the cost of PCSOs per crime almost doubled last year from £640,700 in 2008, when they detected 14 crimes for total wages of £9million. This compared with 10 crimes for £8.5million – an average of £853,000 per crime – in 2007.
Assistant Chief Constable Julian Kirby said: “The role of Support Officers is to develop and sustain community cohesion, for which they are valued here.”
The 237 PCSOs in Leicestershire were credited with detecting 343 crimes while being paid £5.1million last year, an average of £14,800 per crime.
Phil Iley, Leicestershire Police’s volunteers policy development manager, said: “Our PCSO colleagues are a valuable part of neighbourhood policing, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour that matters to people locally.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “PCSOs play an important role in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. They undertake a different role and have different powers than police officers, but perform a vital task.”
