PCSOs, or Police
Community Support Officers for those of us in England and Wales1
who still speak English and not Acronym2,
started to appear in the Devon and Cornwall Police around 2004. They
are awesome members of the police family.
Anti-social
behaviour was on the rise and on the telly; the two traditional
precursors to news outlets letting us know we are going to “crack
down” on something.
I was a Constable in
Cornwall at the time and sure enough we cracked down. PCSOs had been
recruited and I had been told to complete the Anti-Social Behaviour
Act of 2003 “Eee Learning” package. It's a training method that
got it's name after an enthusiastic Yorkshire student was told they
were going on a training course devoid of human interaction. Or
maybe not.
So the office of
PCSO held by my current office mates has been around well over 10
years. That is about 253
or so “cop years” which are measured on the relativity based
“life experienced” scale.
What they do with
the powers and authorities they have been given is phenomenal. They
work with councils, schools, doctors and social workers to look after
vulnerable people. They also contribute to searching for high risk
missing persons, staffing cordons at major crimes, conduct the
pervasive “concern for welfare” door knocks, shepherd drunks,
keep the lid on disputes between neighbours and “crack down” on
anti-social behaviour as well as much more.
And PCSOs do all
this whilst being the approachable, and sometimes only face of
policing in their communities. I have no doubt that PCSOs are doing
the majority of everything I did as a Constable. However PCSOs are
not allowed to be in charge of putting a prosecution case file
together, or get involved in the “dynamic and confrontational”
aspects of policing the streets. That said, a PCSO and I once got a
written pat on the back from a Chief Superintendent following a very
exciting bit of rough and tumble. We both collected a few bumps and
bruises, and a fellow went off to prison for an extended stay. Just
awesome.
But times have moved
on.
Alongside the police
the 213 Parish and Town Councils in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly,
Cornwall Council, the Fire and Rescue Service, housing associations
and others have got much better at working together to address the
anti-social behaviour of the few.
As is the way of the
world, other unpleasant human behaviour is on the rise and on the
telly. I am standing by to crack down on it, whatever it may be. I
am sure my PCSO colleagues and I will adapt again, perhaps see a new
acronym join our family, and embark on another bout of computer based
education.
I hope you have a
great week.
Inspector blogging
PS -- please drive safe, be kind, respect other's stuff.
PS -- please drive safe, be kind, respect other's stuff.
1PCSO
in Scotland stands for Police Custody and Security Officer, a bit
like a Detention Officer here but with car keys and lots more
collecting and transporting of prisoners and people with the police
because they are poorly - in their mental health.
2I
am not a big fan of using letters instead of words. Consider World
Wide Web versus WWW for instance.
3Which
is not as long as Community Service Officers have been around
in some Police Departments in the United States of America.
That is really nice to hear. thank you for the update and good luck.
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