Avon & Somerset PCSOs bear brunt of cuts with 19% reduction last year

60 police community support officers (PCSOs) have been taken off streets across Avon & Somerset in just one-year new Home Office statistics have reveal, as Thornbury & Yate MP Claire Young urges the Government to support restoring local community policing.  

The new workforce statistics showed the number of full-time equivalent PCSOs in each police force as of September 2024, compared to September 2023.

A shocking 235 PCSOs have been cut across England and Wales in that time period - with 150 officers being cut in the six months since March 2024.

Across the South West, 77 PCSOs were taken off local streets in just 12 months. Avon & Somerset Police accounted for 60 of those officers, a reduction of 19.1% and accounting for almost 4-in-5 of those lost.

The new statistics come less than two months after the Government announced its new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which included a pledge to recruit additional PCSOs.

PCSO numbers were ruthlessly slashed under the previous Conservative government - taking over 4,500 PCSOs off the streets since 2015.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on their local neighbourhoods.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat MP Claire Young said: 

“The Conservatives decimated neighbourhood policing. They ruthlessly cut community support officers, who play a vital role on the frontlines helping to keep our communities safe.

“The new Labour government promised to fix this - but these latest figures show that despite the fanfare little has changed, offering little comfort to those worrying about crime and anti-social behaviour in their area.

“I know people are particularly concerned about the recent increase in crime in Yate and Chipping Sodbury and are keen to see more officers out on the street to deter and catch criminals.

“Liberal Democrats will hold this government to account to ensure they implement the proper neighbourhood policing they have promised. That means getting more bobbies back on the beat, cutting paperwork, and ensuring our officers can stop and solve crime at the source.”