Additional powers for CSOs

[Flat in Fifth]

Interesting snippet from the Thunderer today.

www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1373570,00.html

In case the link is duff, Community support officers to get additional powers.

Possibly carry batons
Possibly carry CS gas
Power to search if person detained is suspected of carrying an object liable to cause injury or help them escape.
Power to direct traffic
Assist at road traffic collisions
Enforce some licensing offences
Deal with beggars / vagrants.

This is after how much training? Pls remind me.

24,000 more by 2008.

[apache]

What's the problem with hiring more police, I know money. Look at our hospitals, we have a serious problem with MRSA thanks to using agency workers instead of Domestics working for the hospital.

You get what you pay for, our roads are already dangerous because the police have been replaced by cameras, crime goes unpunished because the govt thinks it's more important to have them making reports for their statistics. Now we are to have 'agency' policing with poorly paid and undertrained people doing the job for dubious motives.

Just where the f**k does all our tax go? what huge moneypit is soaking it all up? idiotic mismanagement can only account for so much. We are a small, densely populated island with a temperate climate, yet I am still disgusted by each new devious money grabbing idea the powers to be can invent. We have become a nation based on greed, do as little as is required and charge as much as possible.......or just take it. And it starts at the top.

[Dwight VanDriver]

Is it just me? Any other serving BiB's feel threatened?

Since the inception of CSO's and now HATO"s and increase in civvy support staff (all these you get when He says an increase in Police not the real thing)I firmly believe that the Mandarins at Home office are engineering a second tier Police Force on the cheap. Witness the call now for more power to CSO's and now being mentioned not enough HATO's and they need more powers.

I get the feeling it is not what the Public want but are they prepared to pay more to stop the erosion. sadly, I think you won't.

DVD
(Picks up hankie FiF and dries eyes)

[JMGS4]

Flat in Fifth said:

Community support officers to get additional powers. Possibly carry batons Possibly carry CS gas Power to search if person detained is suspected of carrying an object liable to cause injury or help them escape. Power to direct traffic Assist at road traffic collisions Enforce some licensing offences Deal with beggars / vagrants. This is after how much training? Pls remind me. 24,000 more by 2008.

I am totally against any civvy getting any powers above those of a normal civilian. Police ONLY. We'll end up with a second rate untrained, chip on the shoulder, moronic jackbooted civvy scumbags who will do NOTHING except further reduce the standing of the police. Especially against the first 3 proposals as above
Possibly carry batons
Possibly carry CS gas
Power to search if person detained is suspected of carrying an object liable to cause injury or help them escape.

tehse scum have totally lost any public respect and look at how nazi the damned yellowcaps are getting, 1 INCH off the marked parking space and these damned NAZIS plant a £30 fine..... I and thousnads nay millions of Brits have lost all respect for such lowdown SCUM!
Next we're going to have Blockwarts to enforce Billy Liars Democratic Socialist Republic of Little (minded) Britain!!!
Time we got correct policing with fully trained police back on the streets (and traffic) and got rid of these mentally retarded apes wearing jackboots who think that they have god given-rights to be pedantic barstewards!!!!!

[mondeoman]

This is what we will have in 5 years - a politically motivated private police force (read home army) for the sole use of the state, seperated from the current police force which polices by consent..

The new "army" will police withour our consent, and will be stacked against the general public as a direct tool of the state, for subjugation and control, not for respect of law n order.

It is blunketts police state on the cheap and by the sly, just one little "reasonable" step at a time until we are all herded, branded and controlled in every thought and deed.

[^Slider^]

Dwight VanDriver said:

Is it just me? Any other serving BiB's feel threatened? Since the inception of CSO's and now HATO"s and increase in civvy support staff (all these you get when He says an increase in Police not the real thing)I firmly believe that the Mandarins at Home office are engineering a second tier Police Force on the cheap. Witness the call now for more power to CSO's and now being mentioned not enough HATO's and they need more powers. I get the feeling it is not what the Public want but are they prepared to pay more to stop the erosion. sadly, I think you won't. DVD (Picks up hankie FiF and dries eyes)

This is what the police federation has been fighting against. There is no clear distinction between police and PCSO's in the publics eyes, as they carry the same radios and wear the same uniform (but without the belt kit and maybe a blue band on the uniform somewhere)

The law clearly seperates the police from the public and by giving them police powers, will only cause confusion. As the majority of law states either a constable in uniform or a constable.

I personally dont feel as if my job is threatened but i do feel as if the distiction in law is. If it carries on all i can see is the public loosing out as they cant tell the difference between the police and the PCSO's. Give them CS and Battons will only increase the problems and remove the lawfull excuse for us to carry them. Bear in mind we have alot of training in how to deploy and use our equipment whereas the PCSO's have 4 weeks in total (law and self defence)

The public will see a fluro with police on it and expect them to act the same way we will. But they wont.

They will be expected to arrest using police powers but will not have them (they have any person powers at the mo)

Will only lead to an errosion of our powers, and what is left of the publics expectations and respect.

All IMHO obviously.

[Flat in Fifth]

^Slider^ said:

They will be expected to arrest using police powers but will not have them (they have any person powers at the mo) Will only lead to an errosion of our powers, and what is left of the publics expectations and respect.

I think the only real power they have at the moment is that for certain issues they can "detain" (haha) someone for up to 30 minutes until a proper bobby arrives.

This is my concern, and the same again with HATOs.

The dividing line is blurred in the eyes of the mainly decent man in the street. Yet the scum know and are informed through their network and behave accordingly.

Thus the mainly decent man in street sees what goes on and decides accordingly. I am not suggesting that this means everyone will slide all the way down to driving uninsured, false or cloned plates, descend to utter chavdom but there will be an erosion of standards.

To go off topic from the thread I would like to present the FiF thought for the day.

I came across this motto in Jainism, a religion older than Islam, Christianity and Buddhism.

Right belief - right knowledge - right conduct - together constitute the path to salvation.

That one sums things up for me.

Cheers all,
FiF

[gone]

Wait until they start to be piad on productivity bonus schemes to help pay for them!

Speed cameras ? You have seen nothing yet .

[autismuk]

gone said:

Wait until they start to be piad on productivity bonus schemes to help pay for them! Speed cameras ? You have seen nothing yet .

Better analogy would be the privatised traffic wardens.

This is a disaster. Our Police are not perfect, but this will just be awful ; and it will achieve *nothing*. The *real* lawbreakers (not speeders !) will ignore them.

They will pick on the majority (that won't fight back) to give their egos a boost. You see it in some cops sometimes (thankfully not often !) but I think it will be far worse under these quasi-cops.