Aphra Brandreth, Member of Parliament for Chester South and Eddisbury, today raised concerns at Prime Minister’s Questions about policing priorities in Cheshire, amid uncertainty over the future of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
Ms Brandreth stressed the importance of PCSOs to visible community policing, particularly in rural areas, and questioned the approach being taken by Cheshire’s Labour Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Dan Price.
While the PCC has said that increasing the police precept, the element of council tax that funds local policing, would allow PCSOs to be retained, Ms Brandreth highlighted the inconsistency of asking households to pay more in council tax while plans are in place to increase spending on the PCC’s own office by £513,000 next year.
Speaking after PMQs, Aphra Brandreth MP said:
“PCSOs play a vital role in keeping our towns and villages safe. The threat to PCSOs is deeply concerning at a time when residents want to see more visible, community-based policing.
“I am disappointed that the Police and Crime Commissioner only addressed these plans after public pressure. You cannot claim to be standing up for PCSOs while planning a £513,000 increase in your own office budget.”
Ms Brandreth has already met with the Chief Constable of Cheshire Police to raise concerns and to examine the rationale behind the plans. While Cheshire Police has indicated there will be additional police officers, these would be redeployed from existing roles rather than newly recruited, raising further questions about whether residents would see any real increase in frontline policing.
Aphra Brandreth MP added:
“Our PCSOs and police officers do an outstanding job in challenging circumstances, and I am hugely grateful for their dedication. The PCC must now be clear about his priorities and explain why households should pay more while his own office costs increase.”
