Police Community Support Officers - Essay Example

POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICERS Is the deployment of police community support officers merely policing on the cheap or do PCSOs have a particular role to play within the wider police family? 1. Introduction The introduction of police community support officers is linked to UK’s governmental agenda to alleviate the public anxiety about crime and disorder due to the demise of community-oriented police foot patrols. However, the accreditation and deployment of PCSOs created controversies and they were labelled ‘plastic policemen’, ‘policing on the cheap’, and represents a two-tier policing. The roles of PCSOs are clearly specified in the Police Reform Act 2002 but their actual and precise role in the wider police family is yet to be identified. Is their deployment merely policing on the cheap? or do PCSOs have an important role to play within the wider police family? 2. PCSO and the Police Reform Act 2002 In Section 38(1) of the Police Reform Act 2002, the chief officers of police in England and Wales to designate any person employed by his police authority to perform one or more duties listed under sub-s(2) such as a police community support officer, an investigating officer, a detention officer, and an escort officer. In other words, the above civilians will be directly employed by the police service but largely within the police are where they serve and will fall under the director and control of the relevant chief officer of police station. The first community support officers were deployed in London in September 2002. In 2007, there are about 4,000 CSOs operating in England and Wales, 1,200 of whom work for the Metropolitan Police 1. Of these non-police officers, the most controversial is the role of PCSOs, which the Police Federation argues is ‘policing on the cheap and represents two-tier policing’ 2 1 D. J. Smith & A. Henry. Transformations of policing. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007, p. 35 2 J. Grieve, C. Harfield, & A. MacVean. Policing. Published by SAGE, 2007, p.57 The Federation opposed their introduction by raising concerns that PCSOs would intrude on both the role of funding of police officers. Regular officers believed PCSOs would weaken the concept of policing by consent and a misuse of taxpayers money 3. They are viewed dimly by many regular officers who suspect that resources are being diverted from well-trained regular officers to novices with only one month training and limited powers 4. As PCSOs receive substantially lees training, have fewer powers and earn less salary than constables, they became known as representative of a ‘two-tier’ system of policing, “plastic policemen” 5, as well as a form of ‘policing on the cheap’ 6. The exact nature of a PCSOs powers is a matter for individual chief officers to designate and the extent to which police force have utilised PCSOs is as varied as the powers invested in them. The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, section 122, empowered chief officers to designate PCSOs with powers of detention, using reasonable force if necessary, if they attend an incident requiring the presence of a constable, and to issue fixed penalty notices for, among other offences, disorder 7. 3. The role of PCSOs The power of community support officers in community policing according to the Police Reform Act 2002 is divided in two parts- fixed penalty notice and powers detentions In fixed penalty notices, they are authorized to issue notices for offences under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, and Environmental Protections Act 1990. Their powers to use reasonable force or detain an offender, confiscate alcohol and tobacco 3 S. Collins & R. Cattermole. Anti-social behaviour: powers and remedies: First Edition. Sweet & Maxwell, 2004, p. 93 4 N. Fielding. The Police and Social Conflict. Routledge Cavendish, 2005, p.140 5 T. Newburn. Handbook of Policing: Second Edition. Willan Publishing, 2008, p. 238 6 B. Goldson. Dictionary of Youth Justice. Willan Publishing, 2008, p. 41 7 Goldson loc. cit. from minors, to remove dangerously parked vehicles, stop and search vehicles, drivers, passengers and pedestrians, and to detain a minor, came from the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and 1988, Terrorism Act 2000, and Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 respectively 8. The introduction of PCSOs, and the planned expansion in their numbers, can be linked to a series of governmental agendas. First, CSOs have been introduced to enhance the visible patrol capability of local police forces. This is because public anxiety about crime and disorder has become entwined with widespread concerns over the demise of community-orientated, police foot patrols. Thus, the advent of CSOs is strongly liked to political imperatives to reduce the fear of crime, to provide reassurance to local communities and to improve public confidence in the police 9. However, according Rogers et. al. (2007), PCSOs does not only prove reassurance through visible patrolling at relevant times, but also through use of their powers to resolve low level community problems 10. “The primary role of PCSOs should be to provide a visible presence” 11 and “act as the eyes and ears of the police service” 12. Secondly, CSOs have gained much operational responsibility for the policing of ‘anti-social behaviour’ in public spaces in residential and commercial areas. While on patrol, CSOs are routinely tasked not only with community engagement and crime prevention but also increasingly with enforcement-orientated duties, such as dealing with physical and social incivilities, undertaking surveillance of problematic groups and gathering intelligence on anti-social behaviour. 8 P. Clayden. Street use and the law. Shaw & Sons Ltd, 2006, p. 42 9 B. Goldson. Dictionary of Youth Justice. Willan Publishing, 2008, p. 42 10 C. Rogers, R. Lewis, & R. Lewis. Introduction to Police Work. Willan Publishing, 2007, p. 125 11 HOUSE OF COMMONS HOME AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. Policing in the 21st Century. The Stationery Office, 2008, p.110 12 P. Joyce. Criminal justice: an introduction to crime and the criminal justice system. Willan Publishing, 2006, p.138 Because the powers chief officers can confer on CSOs are mostly restricted to dealing with anti-social behaviour, they are sometimes called ‘quasi-police officers’ to police ‘quasi-crimes’ 13. The introduction of community support officers “seemed like an idea whose time had come” 14. This is because after September 11 terrorist attack in New York, it became increasingly evident that the police could not cost-effectively meet the growing demand for the patrol of public places and limited ability to deliver the essential outcome of public reassurance of safety 15. “The police cannot solve all the problems presented to them” 16. This is the reason why the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 require the police and local councils to work together to produce crime and disorder strategies through partnership with other agencies. The Police Reform Act 2002 extended this partnership family by creating Community Safety Accreditation Scheme to foster closer partnership working and information-sharing in order to tackle anti-social behaviour 17. PCSOs as members of the “extended police family” 18, are popular with the public as 70 percent of residents responding to surveys felt more secure because of PCSOs 19. In an article in The Guardian in July 2004 entitled “Plastic police prove their worth on the beat”, residents and business people acknowledge that the presence of PCSO is “enough to cut crimes” 20. 13 B. Goldson. Dictionary of Youth Justice. Willan Publishing, 2008, p. 42 14 M. Cole & G. Parston. Unlocking public value: a new model for achieving high performance in public service organizations. John Wiley and Sons, 2006, p. 134 15 Cole & Parston loc. cit. 16 J. Grieve, C. Harfield, & A. MacVean. Policing. Published by SAGE, 2007, p.57 17 Grieve et al. loc. cit. 18 Goldson, op. cit. p. 42 19 N. Fielding. The Police and Social Conflict. Routledge Cavendish, 2005, p.140 20 The Guardian. Plastic police prove their worth on the beat. Available online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2004/jul/13/ukcrime.spendingreview2002, p.1 The Home Affairs Committee, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities all commented that the introduction of CSOs had been very successful. They are effective in their roles as ‘high-visibility patrollers’ and most useful when they work in close liaison with police officers 21. CSOs primary role in the ‘extended’ police family is to support the regular officers. In Northumbria for instance, the recruitment of new custody staff has freed up 90 officers for the frontline. In Wiltshire, officers are using designated investigators to deal with routing interviews and evidence gathering thus freeing up police officers to handle more complex cases. These examples show that community support officers are already making a real difference to public confidence and police effectiveness. They are being effective in dealing with anti-social behaviour and tacking a range of low level problems that can be very destructive to communities. Evaluation programmes in forces deploying CSOs are already providing evidence of their impact at a local level. In Leeds and Bradford for instance, 82 percent of those interviewed admitted that the presence of a visible CSO patrol made the city centre feel a more welcoming place to work, shop, or visit. In Cambridgeshire, one beat area saw crime fall by 22.7 percent after the introduction of CSOs 22. In view of CSOs evident contribution to the police force, the Metropolitan Police, supported by a £2.5 million grant from Home Office, recruited police staff in a range of new roles. This recruitment will release at least 30 police officers from back office related work to the front line. In addition, since 2002, the Metropolitan Police 21 S. Collins & R. Cattermole. Anti-social behaviour and disorder: powers and remedies: Second Edition. Sweet & Maxwell, 2006, p. 62 22 HOME OFFICE. Building Communities, Beating Crime, A Better Police Service for the 21st Century. Great Britain: The Stationery Office, 2004, p.82 has employed nearly 2,000 CSOs where most of them are funded by local authorities. The response to these new officers has been overwhelming as 90% of residents felt more reassured about their safety and street crimes offences decreased by 18.5 % in just over six months. The Thames Valley Police also put support officers in nearly 400 posts previously designated for police officers and deployed these officers to front-line duties. Similarly, Dyfed-Powys civilianised their custody functions, employing 15 staff with powers designated under the Police Reform Act, and releasing an equivalent number of police officers for the front line 23. 4. Conclusion The Police Community Support Offices are funded by the Home Office and work alongside fully trained officers in dedicated neighbourhood policing teams operating across the country. Their prime purpose was to act as the eyes and ears for these officers but they do not have sufficient training and paid less than members of regular police forces nor are they equipped in the same manner. However, although with limited powers and underpaid, their effectiveness in dealing with anti-social behaviour received positive reactions from government, the police force, and the community. The PCSOs role in within the police family is significant as evidence suggest that PCSOs are not just helping the police officers reduced their workloads but very valuable in the front line. Moreover, the continuous recruitment and deployment of PCSOs in various police departments suggest that the police force recognizes the role and contribution of PCSOs in actual police work. 23 HOME OFFICE. Building Communities, Beating Crime, A Better Police Service for the 21st Century. Great Britain: The Stationery Office, 2004, p.83 5. Bibliography CLAYDEN, Paul. Street use and the law. Shaw & Sons Ltd, 2006 COLE, Martin & PARSTON Gregory. Unlocking public value: a new model for achieving high performance in public service organizations. John Wiley and Sons, 2006 COLLINS, Scott & CATTERMOLE, Rebecca. Anti-social behaviour: powers and remedies: First Edition. Sweet & Maxwell, 2004 COLLINS, Scott & CATTERMOLE, Rebecca. Anti-social behaviour and disorder: powers and remedies: Second Edition. Sweet & Maxwell, 2006 FIELDING, Nigel. The Police and Social Conflict. Routledge Cavendish, 2005 GOLDSON, Barry. Dictionary of Youth Justice. Willan Publishing, 2008 GRIEVE, John, HARFIELD Clive, & MacVEAN Allyson. Policing. Published by SAGE, 2007 HOME OFFICE. Building Communities, Beating Crime, A Better Police Service for the 21st Century. Great Britain: The Stationery Office, 2004 HOUSE OF COMMONS HOME AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. Policing in the 21st Century. The Stationery Office, 2008 JOYCE, Peter. Criminal justice: an introduction to crime and the criminal justice system. Willan Publishing, 2006 NEWBURN, Tim. Handbook of Policing: Second Edition. Willan Publishing, 2008 ROGERS, Colin, LEWIS, Rhobert, & LEWIS, Rob. Introduction to Police Work. Willan Publishing, 2007 SMITH, David John & HENRY Alistair. Transformations of policing. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007 THE GUARDIAN. Plastic police prove their worth on the beat. Available online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2004/jul/13/ukcrime.spendingreview2002 Read More