Five: Police community support officers
This chapter critically evaluates the introduction of police community support officers (PCSOs), and considers their complementary role alongside sworn officers. It could be argued that the introduction of PCSOs was a means for the police organisation to manage an inevitable drift towards plural policing, by having control over a resource that consisted of ‘non-sworn’ staff. The chapter discusses the contribution of PCSOs to social capital and crime prevention, as well as how the police occupational sub-culture has reacted to such a change in the delivery of policing. It will also include a critical discussion of the proposal to enhance the role of the PCSOs, which would mean allowing them to utilise enhanced police powers as witnessed within some police forces as they try to deliver a level of service under difficult economic circumstances.
PCSOs are believed to have played a major part in increasing engagement and interaction with local communities. PCSOs were first introduced in 2002, but initially both the public and the police service appeared sceptical. Although their primary role was to contribute to public reassurance through visibility and accessibility as part of the neighbourhood policing team approach and the reassurance programme, there was confusion at first as to what this entailed. A national evaluation of the role in 2004 identified a range of non-standard tasks being undertaken by PCSOs, which included distributing crime prevention advice, collecting evidence for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, conducting minor house-to-house enquiries and providing witness support (Cooper et al, 2006). Concerns arose that the PCSO role, with limited powers compared with those of a police officer, would become simply a cheap way to fulfil some officer functions (Caless, 2007).
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