Ripe for the Chop or the Public Face of Policing? PCSOs and Neighbourhood Policing in Austerity

Abstract

Abstract:Using findings from an in-depth study of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in England, this paper argues that PCSOs should not be viewed as expendable in times of austerity. They have a vital role in Neighbourhood Policing, which is in turn important for police legitimacy. This in fact makes them crucial to police forces trying to save money. PCSOs are uniquely placed in policing to build social capital on their beats which can be used to resolve community problems, prevent crime and gather intelligence. However, to abstract PCSOs from their beats and to increase their powers undermines the strength of their role and the added benefit they bring to police forces. In order for the full impact of PCSOs to be realised, they need to be fully integrated and supported members of Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

Exploring the police support volunteer experience: findings from a national survey

“…The factors upon which effective use of volunteers relies that are outlined in this paper -access to adequate support resources, opportunities for development, a dedicated volunteer manager or coordinator, and processes of reward and recognition -each have costs attached. These costs, however, may not be readily forthcoming within organisations that traditionally favour task-focused and enforcement-based approaches, and are continually under pressure to make savings (Compact Code of Good Practice on Volunteering 2005, Wisner et al 2005, Wilkins 2008, O'Neill 2014, Bullock, 2017.…”

An institutional perspective of neighbourhood policing reform in austerity era England and Wales

“…Although this drastic change did not materialize when the Home Office changed policy and protected the police budget in late 2015, overall funding for WMP would rise only slightly in the 2015–2019 period (Home Office, 2018) and the PCSO workforce continued to decline (see Figure 1). The loss of PCSOs arguably represents a decline in the ability of police forces to deliver NP and certain neighbourhood security functions (Greig-Midlane, 2014; O’Neill, 2014).…”

“…Additional to these more assertive moves, post-2010 policing has also seen the creation of police and crime commissioners (PCCs) and the accompanying move from a tripartite to quadripartite structure (Lister and Rowe, 2015). In particular and in light of debates around the efficacy of the PCSO role (O’Neill, 2014; cf. Loveday and Smith, 2015), PCCs have had to make decisions not only regarding their support of the NP model and ‘bobbies on the beat’, but also on the question of the provision and retention of PCSOs as part of existing or future local policing arrangements.…”

“…Reforms made in the austerity era could impact the direction of these trends, particularly if a cheaper patrolling option, public or private, can replace the PCSO without resistance (Barker and Crawford, 2013; Loveday and Smith, 2015). Although PCSOs were once thought to represent ‘policing on the cheap’, the PCSO workforce has been falling since 2010 due to new approaches to local policing models (Greig-Midlane, 2014) and the PCSO status as staff rather than warranted officer, meaning they can be made redundant (O’Neill, 2014). Furthermore, although there was an uplift in the voluntary workforce of special constables across England and Wales between 2010 and 2014 (Greig-Midlane, 2014), this recruitment drive did not last and the workforce reduced nationally in the second half, potentially due to difficulties in retention coupled with the initial costs of recruitment (Callender et al, 2018).…”

Junior partners or equal partners? Civilian investigators and the blurred boundaries of police detective work

“…The paucity of information about CIs is problematic. A burgeoning academic (O'Neill 2014, Wilson-Kovacs 2014 and policy (Winsor 2012, Home Office 2016) discourse has drawn attention to the importance of the 'civilian element' for police effectiveness and legitimacy in the contemporary period. The absence of information about CIs obscures them from consideration within such debates, placing limits on the police's ability to respond effectively to the changing conditions of policing.…”