Essex Police's PCSOs could be saved from redundancy as government steps in with extra cash

All 99 police community support officers (PCSO) under the threat of redundancy are set to keep their jobs after the Home Office said it would approve extra cash for Essex Police. As many as 65 back-room staff are still facing redundancy.

It follows an agreement with the Government for Essex’s share of additional Neighbourhood Policing Grant to rise from £2.2 million to £4.5 million - enough to save the PCSOs at risk. But, the cash is contingent on 74 officers being moved from other areas into community policing. The final agreement is not set to be made by the Home Office until April.

Nonetheless, the police precept is set to increase by 5.66 per cent for Essex residents—equivalent to an increase of £13.95 a year for a Band D property (an increase from £246.42 to £260.37 a year). Essex Police was facing a £5.3 million budget gap which it said could only be filled by cutting all of its 99 PCSOs.

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The move sparked outrage - including from UNISON who had argued scrapping PCSOs would undermine government pledges to return to neighbourhood policing, following the Prime Minister's pledge last month to put 13,000 new officers and PCSOs into neighbourhood policing.

PCSOs are paid employees but do not have the same powers of arrest that a police officer has. Roger Hirst, Police, Fire, and Crime Commissioner for Essex, had warned on January 28 that job cuts would undermine crime in the county.

He said: "I really appreciate the panels decision which was a very difficult decision.T his will secure community police resource for the coming year. It doesn't leave us without challenges for the future but is good step from where we were a short time ago."