PCSO's

[Savannah]

What is the point? (apart from if you are a security guard and you feel like a promotion) I mean, they can't DO anything!! It's like the Highway Patrol Vehicles on the motorways.

[GruntHead]

Cheap way of saying the streets are safer

[Hooli]

the point is they are pointless

[Sheriff JWPepper]

I for one think that PCSOs work quite well in practice. They can deal with the basic reports that don't need a BiB and one of the positive aspects of the fact their powers are limited is that they are always free to patrol. PCSOs are also very useful for identifing all of the local shits and get plenty of good intel.

If you replaced PCSOs with BiBs they would be quickly absorbed and I doubt there would be any discernable difference.

[FishFace]

It's the result of a Government that needed more Police visibility without the inconveniences of real Police officers. The inconvenience I speak of is the fact that Police officers start a chain of events that cost serious amounts of money.

Quite simply, there's no point in more Police officers until there are more prison spaces. Even if there were more prison spaces there would be little need for more Police as the ones already employed would easily fill them if the Courts were able to give out proper sentences.

[Hooli]

Sheriff JWPepper said:

I for one think that PCSOs work quite well in practice. They can deal with the basic reports that don't need a BiB and one of the positive aspects of the fact their powers are limited is that they are always free to patrol. PCSOs are also very useful for identifing all of the local shits and get plenty of good intel.

If you replaced PCSOs with BiBs they would be quickly absorbed and I doubt there would be any discernable difference.

tbh id much rather they were replaced with plod who know the laws & dont outright lie & bully you because they havent a clue whats 'right'. most of them cant handle being politely told they are wrong either.
combine real plod with the red tape getting binned & then all we need is judges who arent part of care in the community & prisons that are prisons (& can hold enough people).

[Sheriff JWPepper]

Wow, you've spoken to most of them?

ETA: How can you get bullied by someone who has very little power?

Edited by Sheriff JWPepper on Thursday 7th February 00:10

[Busa_Rush]

Waste of time and money same as HATO. Sure they are fine people but the roles are pointless and without merit.

[Greendubber]

People want more BIB but to be fair, currently our PCSO's free us up from 'neighbourhood meetings' and other mundane tasks etc leaving us to get on with what people want us to do.

[Hooli]

Sheriff JWPepper said:

Wow, you've spoken to most of them?

ETA: How can you get bullied by someone who has very little power?

Edited by Sheriff JWPepper on Thursday 7th February 00:10

ok ok, of the ones i've experienced the vast majority would have got a good slapping if it wasnt for them being in fancy dress - a fancy dress that means real plod would take it more seriously than just a random dick getting slapped.

they act like they are god & so forth, im sure you know what im mean. its the attitude test & they fail it.

[Sheriff JWPepper]

Greendubber said:

People want more BIB but to be fair, currently our PCSO's free us up from 'neighbourhood meetings' and other mundane tasks etc leaving us to get on with what people want us to do.

[Vaux]

Busa_Rush said:

Waste of time and money same as HATO. Sure they are fine people but the roles are pointless and without merit.

Sorry, I'm still trying to understand this.
So, when a Police person does what a HATO does, it has merit, but when a HATO does it, it doesn't have merit?

[Brett928S2]

Hi

We have 2 lady Pcso`s locally and all they ever do is walk up and down the main road outside my shop, but they do it very prettily...although they never seem to talk to anyone..

Anyway a couple of weeks ago a builders van decided to block my drop kerb shop access by parking half on the pavement totally blocking my Porsche that I wanted to go to a job on...so I couldn't leave my shop

Just as I was thinking about it, the 2 pretty PSCOs walked up the street, so I thought, ok this is exactly what they are for, to save a proper officer having to attend...

So I explained the situation and they said fine we will sort it....so they went to talk to the builders (with me listening)

They were very polite and asked them to move the van....the builders said fine love just give us 15 minutes

They then started walking away....I said to them , are you actually going to do anything, and they said...we have..and we are going now....I then said, well you had better hang around because in about 5 minutes there will be a breach of the peace....I then said to builders ,you have exactly 30 seconds to move that van then i am going to clamp it...and started looking at my watch...the PCSO`s said to me you cant do that, and I said just watch me....

30 seconds elapsed and I started walking into my shop to get my non existent clamp

The builder then bottled out and ran to his van to move it

I then said to PSCSO ,what would you have done it I had clamped it and a fight started ? They said they would have called the Police..........lol.

I "REALLY" cannot see the slightest use for them at all, although theses particular two make a rather decorative street decoration....

All the best Brett

[djohnson]

Sheriff JWPepper said:

If you replaced PCSOs with BiBs they would be quickly absorbed and I doubt there would be any discernable difference.

My issue is that establishing a different tier of the law enforcement profession costs money in terms of set up since it requires new /different legislation, training, recruitment, uniforms etc etc. Recruiting more police officers does not result in these set up costs since the structure already exists.

You say new Police officers would be 'absorbed' and hence I assume ineffective. Isn't the better answer to fix operating practices within the existing force rather than creating a less effecvtive alternative?

Assume that the employment cost of a PCSO is 60% of a true BIB. I for one would rather have 60 fully trained and effective BIBs rather than 100 PCSOs.

[Aubrey]

Vaux said:

Busa_Rush said:

Waste of time and money same as HATO. Sure they are fine people but the roles are pointless and without merit.

Sorry, I'm still trying to understand this.
So, when a Police person does what a HATO does, it has merit, but when a HATO does it, it doesn't have merit?

Yes I agree, what's wrong with HATOs? Do you actually know what they do? They are there to keep the roads clear, remove debris, help broken down vehicles, assist with accidents etc oh and they can't stop you for speeding. This keeps police officers free for doing 'real' policing as everyone always moans about.

[Aubrey]

I may be wrong, but... does the local council not pay for PCSOs? I have a feeling that they do, which is why the police forces don't mind having them because they don't come out of their budget, if I'm wrong, ignore this

[stepej]

Watched some TV prog at teatime last sunday. Followed some PCSOs onto an estate. They were soon surrounded and verbally abused by the local chavs, who basically just took the pss and started throwing things. When BiB arrived the change in behaviour of the chavs was amazing and just went to confirm to me that PCSOs are a waste of space.

and sorry to bring this up again but PCSOs who 'stood by' as boy drowned still makes my blood boil.

Sack the fuing lot of 'em and get more proper coppers on the streets

Oh, and please don't class HATOs the same, at least not until they're given the power to prosecute speeding motorists

[Vaux]

Aubrey said:

They are there to keep the roads clear, remove debris, help broken down vehicles, assist with accidents etc oh and they can't stop you for speeding. This keeps police officers free for doing 'real' policing as everyone always moans about.

The only "downside" (in the sense that everyone should be full-blown Police) I see is that the opportunity for detection of stuff, like driving disqualified, no insurance, wrong class of licence, due care etc. is lost using HATOs, although ANPR helps with some of it.
Even now, if a HATO calls in the car tax is out, Police aren't interested.

[Aubrey]

Vaux said:

Aubrey said:

They are there to keep the roads clear, remove debris, help broken down vehicles, assist with accidents etc oh and they can't stop you for speeding. This keeps police officers free for doing 'real' policing as everyone always moans about.

The only "downside" (in the sense that everyone should be full-blown Police) I see is that the opportunity for detection of stuff, like driving disqualified, no insurance, wrong class of licence, due care etc. is lost using HATOs, although ANPR helps with some of it.
Even now, if a HATO calls in the car tax is out, Police aren't interested.

Yes that's true, but if your car tax is out of date, then you get sent a fine by the DVLA, but you're right. I don't think HATO's are intended to be a replacement for Police, because they are funded by Department for Transport. I agree there should be more police on the streets though.

[Busa_Rush]

Vaux said:

Busa_Rush said:

Waste of time and money same as HATO. Sure they are fine people but the roles are pointless and without merit.

Sorry, I'm still trying to understand this.
So, when a Police person does what a HATO does, it has merit, but when a HATO does it, it doesn't have merit?

Appology accepted Not everybody has mental agility as one of their key characteristics

What I mean is why employ a person who costs almost as much as a proper plod to do only 10% of the proper plod job, why not have a proper plod for a bit more ? If we need more plod, there we need more plod, trying to employ civilians to do bits of their job is false economy and will only lead to problems.