Stab vests to protect region's PCSOs

Stab proof vests are to be issued to police community support officers in the West Midlands following a campaign by a Black Country MP.

The region's police force is the last in the country to take the step, which will cost £247,000 for 800 officers.

A report will be presented to West Midlands Police Authority on Thursday making the recommendation.

It follows a campaign started three years ago by West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson.

The Labour MP used the Freedom of Information Act to ask all 43 forces in England and Wales for details, and found that just four did not issue the vests.

West Midlands Police is now the last of the forces to do so. One force, South Yorkshire, has even issued protective vests for its dogs.

Mr Watson said today: "This is great news for front-line PCSOs in the West Midlands and I would like to thank the many hundreds of people who joined the campaign to get them anti-stab vests.

"It shows we have a chief constable in Chris Sims who not only leads but listens."

Last year, Mr Watson obtained figures showing that PCSOs in the West Midlands had been assaulted 180 times over a three-year period.

He raised the issue in the Commons, warning ministers that police forces were operating a "postcode lottery in safety".

A review of PCSOs concluded that issuing stab vests would allow them to patrol alone, thereby increasing their visibility and productivity.

The West Midlands Police Authority chairman, Bishop Derek Webley, said: "I welcome the opportunity to consider the introduction of stab vests for police community support officers.

"The debate about the role of PCSOs has generated strong opinions nationally and locally.

"The authority recognises the key role PCSOs play in the public's confidence in policing, and wants to see them deployed as effectively as possible. We believe that PCSOs are an indispensable part of local policing."

Police community support officers are civilian staff who are given limited powers to help combat anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime.

Their role is to support the work of police officers. They provide a visible presence on the streets to reassure the public, but they are also expected to attend incidents of disorder, nuisance and anti-social behaviour, so can still face violence.

Since 2002, their numbers have grown, and now there are more than 800 in the West Midlands force area.

Stab vests are already standard issue for neighbourhood policing and response officers.

Mr Sims took over as West Midlands chief constable from Sir Paul Scott-Lee last year, having previously been the top officer at neighbouring Staffordshire Police.