Chief constable defends West Mercia plan for no PCSOs after 20:00
"Financial challenges" have forced the need for a consultation on police community support officers (PCSOs) finishing shifts by 20:00, a new police chief has admitted. Chief Constable Richard Cooper said West Mercia Police would be saving money on extra payment officers get when they work unsociable hours. Following a backlash over the plan by councillors in Shropshire last month, Mr Cooper stressed that if the consultation pans out, the same amount of PCSOs would still be working the same amount of hours."Its not a case of do we need to save money, it's how do we save the money?," he told BBC Hereford & Worcester.
"The cost of running the organisation is now stripping the funding available to us," he said, speaking on the mid-morning Hot Seat spot, on Thursday."We've had to make some really difficult considerations. Our police staff and officers receive an unsociable hours payment for working into the evening and we need to save money."
Anti-social behaviour issues
As chief constable Mr Cooper - who was appointed in March after working in the role temporarily since last August - is responsible for the delivery of operational policing across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. A caller on the programme's phone-in had asked about whether the PCSOs are needed later than 20:00. In response, Mr Cooper said many officers deal with anti-social behaviour issues, which generally "diminishes rapidly" by that time. "The data supports the fact the peak [for anti-social behaviour] is between 5 and 6. It starts dropping thereafter and stops dramatically after 8 o'clock," he explained.
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One of them called it a "monstrosity" and said we had been underhanded, but we haven't been. 'They all jumped on the bandwagon and now they have succeeded. 'I'm sure the council will in time send an order to remove the fence and return the greenery. 'They [Portland Close residents] will expect it to be Chelsea Flower Show over there - but it wont be.' For their part, several residents in Portland Close told MailOnline they had supported the petition to remove the fence, arguing their neighbours had acted 'underhand' and greenery had been taken away from their road without their consultation. In letters to Slough Borough Council, they had also argued that the 'removal of trees, plants, and hedges has disrupted the local ecosystem and driven foxes into our gardens in search of shelter.' They added: 'This is a significant concern, as these animals may carry diseases and pose a potential threat to children's safety and public health.' One said: 'I've got no problem with them putting a fence up, but we should have been informed about it. 'I can't speak for everyone, but if we had been contacted we could have come to an arrangement where some of the hedge on this side was left. 'I think part of the problem was Taylor Wimpey contacted Ramsay and St Michael's about buying the land - but they never contacted us. 'Some have also put in back gates, which I don't know why they need them going into our road. Others have not, so it's not even uniform. 'They said they wanted to take away the hedges for security reasons, but now you can see right into their back gardens. At the moment it just looks awful. 'And how is taking away the hedges going to stop the antisocial behaviour? A hedge actually hides a lot of rubbish and it's far easier for somebody to climb over a fence than straight through a big hedge.' The homeowner added that while she was sympathetic her neighbours could lose the money they have invested into buying the land, 'those are the rules'. 'If you're spending a lot of money putting fencing up, surely you should check the planning rules? 'My opinion is that it's an eyesore. One minute we had a hedge and now we don't. I have actually found that quite upsetting.' In their decision, Slough Borough Council said: 'The development, by reason of the change of use from the pre-existing hedged boundary in a public use to private residential use is detrimental to the amenities of the area and by reason of the timber close boarded fencing and concrete plinth, comprises a harmful addition to the streetscene, poor siting, height, loss of soft landscaping and loss of informal green space. 'The development has a detrimental visual impact within the area and fails to improve the character or appearance of the surroundings and street scene at Portland Close. 'If planning permission is granted for this development it would make it difficult for the LPA to resist other similar forms of harmful development, resulting in further unacceptable impacts.' The homeowners are now considering launching an appeal against the decision.
