Number of police community support officers in Hampshire falls dramatically

Analysis of new Home Office statistics commissioned by the Liberal Democrats from the House of Commons Library has shown the drastic cuts to PCSOs in Hampshire. It comes as crime commissioner Donna Jones recently announced 50 more police officers will be funded through council tax to join the force. The authority also said it was on track to achieve above its target for the uplift recruitment drive with 650 new officers by March 2024.

Lib Dem analysis of the Home Office data showed a total of 215 full-time equivalent PCSOs were employed in Hampshire as of September 2022. This is in stark contrast to the 368 that were employed in March 2016.

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The Winchester Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservative government of letting communities in Hampshire down by taking police community support officers off the streets, leading to more crimes going unsolved and victims going without justice.

The same trend is being seen up and down the country, with the number of active PCSOs falling by an average of 33 per cent in England and Wales since 2015. Nationally, England and Wales have lost 4,068 PCSOs since 2015.

Lib Dem MP candidate for Winchester and Chandler’s Ford, Danny Chambers, has slammed the Conservatives for this move, which he says means that less police officers are visible on the streets, building relationships - and trust - with local people. The party has called for a return to proper community policing.

Mr Chambers, said: ‘These shocking figures prove that Conservative ministers are yet again failing to prevent crime in Hampshire. They should be ashamed. Police community support officers play a vital role in keeping our communities safe. The government should be empowering them to do their job, not slashing their numbers into oblivion.

‘I recently went out on patrol with a local police constable, Tom Harries, so I could see first hand the challenges that our police have to deal with on a daily basis. It’s a tough job and we need to ensure our regular police officers and PCSOs get the resources and support they need from government to keep our communities and streets safe.

‘Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and known personally to local people. We will build communities where people are safe - and feel safe, too.’

Chief constable Olivia Pinkney speaking to the Police and Crime panel last month said: ‘The force has made real progress in the last 12 months and I am pleased to say that by March 31 we will have more than 600 extra officers compared to March 29, 2020. This means we are a force that is on track to deliver its national police uplift numbers.

‘In fact, the situation is better than simply delivering the government target. Under the commissioner’s new budget plans, that number of extra police officers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight would now increase again to 650. And this could be delivered by March 31, 2024.’