Big drop in number of PCSOs in West Midlands

There were 160 fewer of the officers in both forces at the end of last year than in 2010.

Some 135 of these were in the West Midlands and 25 in Staffordshire.

The Unison union says more needs to be done to protect police forces from Government cuts - but bosses insist they are ensuring there are still enough officers.

Staffordshire Police is actually recruiting 31 PCSOs in the coming months, while West Midlands chiefs are in the middle of taking on 450 constables.

Across the country, there has been a 27 per cent reduction in the number of PCSOs, with 4,430 jobs being cut since 2010.

Critics say PCSOs make up the majority of neighbourhood police teams so the drop in numbers will have an effect on communities.

It comes as the West Midlands force faces 2,500 job losses and £120 million of cuts in the next four years.

And Staffordshire faces a £22.8m budget shortfall, created by its Home Office grant being slashed.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: "People feel safer when there is a visible and reassuring police presence on the beat.

"But four years of savage cuts to PCSOs mean that one in four police patrols have been withdrawn from our neighbourhoods since 2010. If the Conservatives are returned to power next week the harsh police spending cuts they are proposing would see many more PCSOs cut.

"This Government has shown no interest in protecting frontline police despite its promises to do. Ministers' obsession with cuts is now placing the public at greater risk. With fewer PCSOs, vital evidence and intelligence gathering will be lost and fewer crimes solved."

West Midlands police and crime commissioner David Jamieson said: "Unison are absolutely correct that because of unfair government cuts the number of PCSOs is falling. In the West Midlands we have faced the largest policing cuts in the country, which have been disproportionately higher than lower crime rural areas.

"I will be working on a cross-party basis to make sure that the West Midlands gets its fair share. I'm not calling for more to be spent on policing nationally, I simply want a fair share of the current pot.

"To deal with this government's huge and disproportionate cuts for policing it is clear that we will have to change the way that we work. I will protect neighbourhood policing, but we are going to have to look closely at how the service is delivered in future to deal with the disproportionate cuts we are facing. Over the next five years we expect to lose another 2,500 staff, officers and PCSOs because of the government's cuts."

Staffordshire police and crime commissioner Matthew Ellis argues PCSOs are important for local communities, which is why he says more are being recruited.

He said: "Go to anybody in the street and most people are blown away by the work of PCSOs. The whole point of neighbourhood policing is to manage issues on the ground before it becomes a criminal issue.

"The vast majority of public meetings I go to, the first thing people say is what great PCSOs they've got."