Telford towns may fund local PCSOs

A new approach is to set to be trialled in Telford and Wrekin after a number of town and parish councils have said they are keen to fund Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) posts.

PCSOs are employed by the police and go out on patrol and deal with a range of issues including offences such as anti-social behaviour, deterring people from committing offences, crime prevention and gathering evidence whilst helping to create resilient communities.

There are 49 PCSOs posts in Telford and Wrekin. Four are currently funded by Telford & Wrekin Council while 45 are funded directly by police.

Telford & Wrekin as part of £30 million of cuts to its budget, will end its £120,500 support for four PCSO posts. This cut has been delayed until April 2017 to allow time for discussion with partners around possible different ways these posts could be funded in future.

Talks with town and parish councils have progressed well and five have already expressed an interest in taking on funding of PCSOs who will hold a range of civic powers including parking enforcement.

Police have agreed to trial a new integrated community management which would see a dedicated PCSO work with a range of street level services to target resources on key issues of concern in the area.

Telford & Wrekin Council is now setting up meetings involving interested parish and town councils and police to see how quickly this integrated approach can be rolled out to areas which expressed an interest in funding PCSOs.

Cllr Shaun Davies, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, said: "There is a very clear desire from Police to work with us and parish and town councils to keep a form of locally funded PCSOs-type work to help keep these areas of the borough safe

"We will be seeking to work together with Town and Parish Councils to put this up and running as quickly as possible that integrates partners’ resources to tackle the issues that matter most to local communities.

"Telford & Wrekin Council can play its part by helping to prime some funding for these new arrangements. Ultimately I believe this could see the number expand beyond the four PCSOs the council already funds."

Police Superintendent for Telford James Tozer said: "We are delighted that there is a desire among parish and town councils to work with us to help reduce harm in our communities. We welcome this opportunity, Our Safer Neighbourhood Teams which include PCSOs are always seeking to work closely with partners and residents to improve areas.

"This trial is one of a range of possible models we will be trying out to deliver a more Integrated Community Management, working with the energy that is already out their in local communities to help them thrive and tackle the issues that really matter to them, together."