South Yorkshire Police Chief Talks PCSO Plan

13 April 2012, 12:41 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Plans to replace police officers on the street with PSCO's may not happen, that’s from South Yorkshire’s new police chief.

David Crompton, Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, told the police authority meeting in Barnsley that rumours of proposals to rebrand PCSOs were a "storm in a teacup".

An initiative is already running and has seen PCSOs in South Yorkshire become the first line of contact for the public in neighbourhood policing matters.

The proposals state that police officers would be grouped into so-called "taskable teams" so they can deal with serious incidents, and PCSOs will work on smaller crime on the streets.

Mr Crompton told Friday's meeting: "We aren't taking police officers away from areas they work, they will still be working in the same areas they have worked in previously, dealing with problems in the same streets, in the same communities. They will still be working in the same areas, they will not be stuck away in some police station somewhere."

Mr Crompton said: "If somebody needs a police officer, they will get one, in the same way they always have."

In a statement released earlier, Mr Crompton described media reports as "inaccurate".

"Today's discussion in relation to PCSO powers and duties would not result in a removal of police constables from frontline policing," he said.

The idea is that PSCOs will be given more powers to tackle more crime.

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Holt added: ``We are not removing any bobbies from the beat in South Yorkshire.''