Exhibits, Shows and Displays

PCSOs - Are They Completely Useless...?

...they allow a child to drown whilst watching on because they're not allowed to intervene, now they simply stand by as a 55 year old man is attacked in broad daylight and leave a 59 year old woman to step in to defend the victim. What exactly are Labour's 'Plastic PCs' good for? Complete waste of taxpayers money in my opinion... http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.1810918.0.great_gran_claims_pcsos_left_her_to_help_beaten_man.php A man was viciously attacked with a stick by a gang of teen girls as two PCSOs looked on, a great-grandmother has claimed. Astonished Ann Ward rushed to help the 55-year-old man who was assaulted in broad daylight in Ravensbury Park, Morden. The 59-year-old was forced to step in because the police community support officers did nothing, she said.

Public Comments

1. I agree.What EXACTLY is it they do?
2. wow sounds pretty bad :(
3. What exactly the job they are hired to do that they do not do. I was just wondering. looks like it isn't working.
4. Hmmm. A great gran at 59??? They do seem to be policemen on the cheap. But this story is only the old woman's version of events, so I'd hesitate to take it as 100% truth.
5. That's what you get when you let politicians take away your guns,the criminals have more rights than you do. Your PCSO's aren't worth their pay,get rid of them.
6. I have a friend PCSO, she looks the part in the uniform she works long hours has to walk the streets alone and be first on the scene if there are problems on her patch... then her hands are tied. Often her radio to call up help does not work, she is after vulnerable without much protection. It is just cheap man power, I personaly would not feel very safe if I was introuble and called the police and a PCSO turned up.
7. Hi Elvis this is an emotive subject, whilst i fully understand and agree with your feelings, its not for the want of these guys to get involved, in my force West Mids, these guys (& girls) pound the beat as a uniformed presence, as this is what we, the public want... out of the car on the beat! as there isnt enough police this is a filler to bridge it, these guys want to do more but cant as the Cheif only allows them certain powers and no stab vest, so there not to be confrontational! can you believe it, these guys are often the first person you see walking past your house or wonder down the high street. (im led to believe these guys have a mere 7 powers, including traffic (parking etc) what we (the public) need to do is demand more police.. stop putting regulations on them like pounding the beat but demand more patrolling, rather than paperwork, even the special constabulary helps out, so train the PCSO's to be police then it would be alot better all round for all!. But please dont blame all PCSO's, as its the Cheif who dictates what they can do and cant!. only a few like in every job are probably not worthy of being there!. rambling over... thanks for reading..
8. No they are not completely useless. - They look nice in their uniforms. - They (sometimes) are able to give directions. - They will be good on 'The Bill' a useless Dumb-wit characters - They have contributed to the economy as someone had to make their uniforms. Um, I'm running out of things fast. Um, Um, Okay you win - they are a total waste of time & space and are a source of 'cheap labour' rather than having REAL Police Officers. They lack common sense and have an attitude of 'Sorry, not trained for that!' 'Might be against H&S'
9. You have a valid question about the role of PCSOs, so why spoil it with nonsense? They didn't "allow a child to drown whilst watching on" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7007081.stm They arrived on the scene, probably after the boy was already dead, and made a reasonable decision not to undertake an underwater search, without knowing where the boy was, and without the appropriate equipment. Perhaps it might be more pertinent to question the role of parents who let an eight year old and a ten year old play near a lake unsupervised? The case you quote in Wimbledon looks a more valid criticism, although I'd be interested to hear some corroboration. Police officers patrolling a beat make us feel a bit safer, without actually seriously affecting crime rates. PCSOs are a cheap way of getting a presence on the streets, while maintaining the flexibility of police officers able to respond more quickly by car. In theory fine, but as we know, it doesn't always work in practice. Of course, we can have thousands more police on our streets - just as soon as we're willing to pay the extra taxes for them.
10. I think so yes. PCSOs are all about saving money in wages and in training. It’s the government’s way of getting uniformed presence onto the street but it is useless if the officers have no powers. How can you do the kind of community work that is so sorely needed if you know that there is nothing you can really do? What I don’t understand is that PCSOs are a paid service,by the public,............ and they have no powers.
11. They are cheap labour and the wages of 3 PCSOs would pay for 2 proper Police Officers. I know which I would sooner have.
12. More Police on the street? They look good in there uniforms? People feel safe?. I could go on with all the crape But I shall not. They are a (Political pawn) Gathers of information. Think about it.
13. they are just an extention of new labour, limp and useless.