Stop! Or I'll run away!

[Blind_Io]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

The controversy over Police Community Support Officers deepened last night with the emergence of a leaked memo that "makes a mockery" of their ability to fight crime.

The memo states that PCSOs - dubbed Blunkett's Bobbies after the home secretary who created them - are not allowed to tackle violent yobs.
They are also barred from responding to any serious incident where there is not a fully-trained police officer already present.

The risk assessment compiled by Lancashire Police even forbids the PCSOs to issue fines, detain people or confiscate alcohol if any violence is threatened.

Instead, they are instructed to call for back-up or withdraw if they face confrontation by a member of the public.

The embarrassing leak raises further questions about the wisdom of spending money on relatively powerless "scarecrows" - some as young as 16 - rather than using it to increase the numbers of fully trained officers.

Last month, it emerged that two PCSOs in neighbouring Greater Manchester had not attempted to rescue drowning ten-year-old Jordon Lyon from a lake in Wigan in May.

The force said the pair were not trained in water rescues and had been ordered to wait for a real police officer to arrive, by which time it was too late.

Jordon's grieving mother, Tracy Ganderton, branded PCSOs "plastic bobbies" and called for them be scrapped.

The Lancashire force's memo, leaked to a local newspaper, says PCSOs can detain people for up to 30 minutes until a police officer arrives.

It adds that they can confiscate alcohol and issue fixed-penalty notices for public order and anti-social behaviour offences, but only until violence is threatened.

However, they must not be deployed "as first response to any incident that requires a police officer unless they are accompanied by a police officer", and are barred from carrying out searches at crime scenes.
Ben Wallace, Tory MP for Lancaster and Wyre, said: "These ridiculous caveats make a mockery of PCSOs and I would urge the chief constable to review this and allow them to be used for what they are supposed to be used for, which is helping the public."



Drowned: Jordon Lyons died trying to save his sister - two PCSOs did not attempt to save him

Read more...

• New safety rules tell police not to hold their hand out to drowning swimmers

The former military commander and security expert added: "I don't doubt a lot of PCSOs want to help the community, but the police force is so bogged down in bureaucracy not even volunteers can help. It's a joke."

Steve Edwards, a spokesman for the Police Federation, said: "You are raising a valid point, which is if they can't do anything then what is the point?

"They are there solely to provide a visible presence. They are not and never will be a replacement for police officers."
Mr Edwards said that given a choice between 100 PCSOs and 60 fully trained officers, the money should be spent on the latter, who are "far more effective and have far more powers".
Even Unison, the public sector union which represents half of the country's PCSOs, admitted: "We have said to employers that the training of some constabularies' PCSOs is not as in-depth as it should be."

Figures obtained by the Daily Mail show that, on average, each PCSO solves a crime every six years. By contrast, a police officer detects an average of 11 crimes a year.

The list of powers given to PCSOs is up to each individual chief constable, though none is allowed to make an arrest.

A Home Office spokesman said last night: "PCSOs are an addition to police officers - they are not a substitute.

"They have been well-received in their communities while playing a key role in freeing up police officer time - for example by undertaking some tasks which require police presence but not necessarily the skills and expertise of a fully sworn police officer."

Lancashire's acting assistant chief constable, Wendy Walker, said: "Communities constantly tell us that they value the contribution that PCSOs make to their quality of life."

Is there really anything I can say that would make this more pathetic than it already is?

[teletubby-warrior]

The force said the pair were not trained in water rescues and had been ordered to wait for a real police officer to arrive, by which time it was too late.

I'm speechless...

[No Boss]

I don't think there are enough FAIL memes to convey the amount of fail here.

/desperately trying to resist a pirate and drowning joke...
//...nope sorry... just can't do it.... too cruel.

[FATMOUSE]

Useless. So they're like normal citizens that are mandated to call for help, and get paid to do so?

[tigger]

Originally Posted by teletubby-warrior

I'm speechless...

Me too. I can't believe they'd just stand there and let the kid drown because they'd been told not to wait for help. They ought to be fired for obeying such an unbelievably stupid order.

[Alok]

Originally Posted by tigger

Me too. I can't believe they'd just stand there and let the kid drown because they'd been told not to wait for help. They ought to be fired for obeying such an unbelievably stupid order.

If they can not do anything while two kids drowned for the sake of obeying an order, on moral level, they out to be fired at

[smib]

Originally Posted by Alok

If they can not do anything while two kids drowned for the sake of obeying an order, on moral level, they out to be fired at

My thoughts exactly. The kind of people that can watch a child drown and do nothing need to get a healthy dose of population control.

[Peter3hg]

They are the laughing stock of the country. About the only powers they have is to take alcohol off people in the street, pointless.

[watto]

Wow. Totally disgraceful/shameful/pitiful.

F'ing useless.

[LeMans GTR]

If these PCSOs can't do anything useful then what's that point!, heck they can't even swim!

[Cobol74]

If they could outsource Policing to India they would. Brainless cost cutting is the order of the day. ...

[tigger]

Originally Posted by Peter3hg

About the only powers they have is to take alcohol off people in the street, pointless.

Ah, well they can't even do that if you threaten them with violence, then it becomes a matter for "real cops". Sounds like you can get them to leave you alone just by telling them you'll kick their ass .

[nomix]

I guess the problem is that they might still be considered private citizens, and the fact of the matter is, that police legally have a monopolly on using violence.

They can of course defend themselves if attacked, I suppose.

[epp_b]

Un-freaking-believable. It's not "safe" for any citizen to save someone from drowning? Britain, you've officially gone over the deep end. Your relentless quest for "health and safety" is neither healthy nor safe.

Way-to-go, government, you just murdered someone. Screw you.

[IceBone]

Sorry to dig this up, but what the hell is gonna happen about this? Does anything EVER happen in situations like this? Do they just get reported and then swept under the carpet and everybody goes about their lives? What happened with that guy that got tazered to death in Vancouver airport anyway? Anything happening there?

[FATMOUSE]

No. People are too busy watching American Idol.

[Twerp128]

Wow and I thought traffic cops were worthless. Probably a good thing they don't get a gun.

[tigger]

Originally Posted by IceBone

Sorry to dig this up, but what the hell is gonna happen about this? Does anything EVER happen in situations like this?

Afaik, nothing. Someone probably got suspended, or maybe fired. Any government agency in charge won't publicly pursue it, why would they willingly continue to remind the public of their own incompetence? And the public, for the most part, has the attention span of a hamster. News agencies are ever worse. If there even is follow up coverage, it will be on tv at 3am or on the 19th page of the paper.