Commenting on a government announcement about £100m in increased funding for community policing, UNISON national officer for police staff Ben Priestley said today (Friday):
“Neighbourhood policing has been shattered after a decade and a half of cuts under previous Conservative governments. Extra cash is welcome and sorely needed.
“But forces must do everything possible to use this money to properly fund all police staff roles.
“It’s a false economy to focus spending on officers at the expense of other vital jobs.
“Cutting back on trained, experienced staff means police officers are taken away from the frontline community work the public expects.
“Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) numbers have dropped by more than half since 2010*. Without building this number back up, it’ll be impossible to improve visible policing.
“The situation in Essex where the county’s force is to disband its PCSO workforce entirely to save money is a case in point. It’s also a direct threat to government ambitions to rebuild neighbourhood policing.
“Financial penalties if forces miss rigid targets for officer numbers should be scrapped and chief constables should be allowed to decide what’s best for their area.”
Notes to editors:
– *PCSO numbers (in England and Wales) were reduced from 16,919 in 2010 to just 7,417 in 2024, a drop of 56%.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service, and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary, and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
The article Neighbourhood policing won’t improve unless money is put into staff roles first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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