Telford council cuts: Towns may have to pay for their own PCSOs

It comes as Telford & Wrekin Council announced it would cut £120,500 support for the posts as the authority attempts to make savings of £30 million in the next two years.

Smaller councils in the borough are now being asked to secure PCSOs that would exclusively manage their area.

Currently there are four council-funded officers that work borough wide. One of the four is already funded by Great Dawley Town Council and another joint funded by Wellington Town Council and Newport Town Council.

The remaining 45 PCSOs in Telford are paid for by West Mercia Police.

Councillor Shaun Davies, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, today said the move could increase the number of council-funded PCSOs.

The authority says talks with town and parish councils had lead to five already expressing an interest in taking over the funding.

It is now setting up further meetings to see how quickly the new approach could be rolled out in those areas.

Councillor Davies said: "There is a very clear desire from police to work with us and parish and town councils to keep a form of locally funded PCSOs-type work to help keep these areas of the borough safe.

"We will be seeking to work together with town and parish councils to put this up and running as quickly as possible that integrates partners' resources to tackle the issues that matter most to local communities.

"Telford & Wrekin Council can play its part by helping to prime some funding for these new arrangements.

"Ultimately I believe this could see the number expand beyond the four PCSOs the council already funds."

Though it has been delayed until April next year (2017) to allow discussions about how the posts could be funded in the future.

Police have agreed to trial a new management scheme which would see a dedicated PCSO work to target key issues of concern in the area.

Police Superintendent for Telford James Tozer said: "We are delighted that there is a desire among parish and town councils to work with us to help reduce harm in our communities.

"We welcome this opportunity, Our Safer Neighbourhood Teams which include PCSOs are always seeking to work closely with partners and residents to improve areas.

"This trial is one of a range of possible models we will be trying out to deliver a more integrated community management, working with the energy that is already out their in local communities to help them thrive and tackle the issues that really matter to them, together."

PCSOs are employed by the police and go out on patrol and deal with a range of issues including offences such as anti-social behaviour, deterring people from committing offences, crime prevention and gathering evidence and helping to create stronger communities. They hold a range of civic powers including parking enforcement.