Cllr Seeby’s evidence

HCC Crime & Disorder Topic Group - Scrutiny Review of PCSOs - 1st March 2010

BRIEFING NOTE FOR BROXBOURNE MEMBERS

Background

Broxbourne Council has funded the provision of PCSOs since 2005/06.

Initial level of support was £66k per annum for 2 posts, match funded by Police to give total of 4 posts.

The Council agreed in April 2008 to increase its funding to £85.5k per annum for 3 posts (match funded by Police) to give total of 6 posts, with one post being dedicated to the Waltham Cross Safer Neighbourhood Team

Council’s Scrutiny Review

 The Council carried out a scrutiny review of the effectiveness of its investment in PCSOs in February 2008. It concluded:

  • PCSOs are becoming embedded in the community and this should be encouraged as some members of the community, seeing PCSOs on the streets, felt they contributed towards a healthy community and engendered a greater feeling of community safety among residents.
  • The development of location based team working, with a mix of police and PCSOs was supported
  • If opportunities arose, PCSOs should be given additional authority and powers to become as effective as possible across as wide a range of environment and police responsibilities.
  • The PCSO role in licensing enforcement needed to be tightened up.

As a result of this review the following local performance measures were agreed for the PCSO service

  • % of time spent by PCSOs on high visibility patrols
  • Number of stop and accounts issued
  • Number of alcohol seizures
  • Number of fixed penalty notices issued
  • 72 hour response time to visit and report bask on ASB incidents referred by the Council (Police/Council)
  • Monitoring of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (start, mid term and close)
  • Visits to off-licences (Target - once every six weeks for ‘high’ risk premises, once every 3 month for medium risk premises and once a year for low risk premises)
  • Reporting of environmental crimes (abandoned cars, untaxed cars, graffiti, flytips and flyposting etc)

Current Position

The key priorities for tasking of PCSOs are determined by the multi-agency Joint Action Group

The Local Strategic Partnership has recently agreed, with effect from 1 April 2010 to increase the level of Council support by a further £28.5k to £114k per annum, funded from Performance Reward Grant, with the post being dedicated to the Hoddesdon Town Safer Neighbourhood Team

The police have agreed to match fund this post, increasing the local provision toa total of 8 posts.

Issues needing to be addressed

The Place survey results showed that public perceptions about ASB in the Borough have worsened during the last 3 years, which challenges whether the public are convinced about the impact of PCSOs

There is a need for PCSO working hours to be commensurate with public expectations (late working Friday/Saturday evening and Sundays)

PCSOs need to be more than ‘high visibility’ presence, as need to be seen to be taking action

Need for increased training for PCSOs around ‘community engagement’ skills and increased awareness of the key role they play influencing public confidence/ reassurance

A more consistent/rigorous approach is needed to the issuing of fixed penalty notices

Local issues include:

  • Need for improved input from Safer Neighbourhood Teams into Joint Action Group/Police Pledge priorities
  • Greater sharing of community intelligence with ASB Investigator/ASB Co-ordinator
  • Off licence visits need to be carried out of an evening to maximise impact
  • Tighter controls on ensuring adherence to 72 hour response to tasking requests
  • Increased reporting of envirocrimes to the Council such as vandalism/graffiti
  • Need for increased joint patrols to combat local issues i.e illegal/dangerous parking outside schools, etc.

Conclusion

1 The Council welcomes this scrutiny and is grateful for the opportunity to give evidence.

2 Overall, the Council seeks the development of this resource: its full scope may not yet have been reached. The Council welcomes the force’s willingness to share and discuss these matters.

3 Sharing force-wide indicators on PCSO output and outcomes would be valuable in ‘benchmarking’ local effectiveness.

4 PCSOs could be a resource for the good in community assurance. The wider the range of targeted duties they can undertake, by agreement with funding partners, the more effective they might be.

5 A capacity to undertake evening and weekend working would be helpful.