Councillors call for return to community policing

In a motion set to be debated at a meeting of Full Council this week, Liberal Democrat councillors are calling on the Conservative North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to reverse the freeze in Police Community Support Officers recruitment and significantly increase the number of officers in the region.

This follows concerns expressed over the 20% fall in the number of Police Community Support Officers since 2021 across North Yorkshire.

Despite a 4.99 per cent rise in the Police percept, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has paused PCSO recruitment until March 2024.

Whilst the number of ASB related incidents in York has decreased since the end of the pandemic, for certain areas, it remains a significant issue, which councillors have been trying to address through proactive local community action. In Westfield, such action has included improving street lighting, working with families with a restored multi-agency approach, developing new ‘diversionary’ activities with young people in the area, litter-picking and repairs or replacement of damaged property.

In the motion to Full Council Lib Dem councillors are also calling for the development of neighbourhood improvement plans, which review how to best holistically design out anti-social behaviour in the area, as well as:

• Inviting the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to a public meeting to answer councillor questions and set out plans to improve community policing in York.
• Request that the Safer York Partnership representatives engage and consult ward councillors in the development of the Community Safety Strategy 2023-2026.
• Call on Safer York Partnership chair to explore best ways to embed Community Safety Officers within the Community Safety Hub.

Local Lib Dem Councillor for Westfield, Simon Daubeney, who will be proposing the motion, commented:

“Police Community Support Officers serve a vital role in keeping York’s communities safe. We all know that officers on the ground work exceptionally hard to protect and serve communities, but they are let down by the lack of leadership from the Commissioner and a decade of underfunding from the Government.

“The Government and the Conservative Commissioner should be empowering them to do their job, not risking the slashing of their numbers, putting more pressure on stretched local council budgets to plug the gaps in community safety. We must return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and known personally to local people.

“We know that residents are concerned about crime and anti-social behaviour, so we will continue to take proactive action and lead the campaign to end anti-social behaviour issues locally. However, the short-sighted reduction in PCSOs and the chronic underinvestment in our Police and Fire services make the task far harder than it should be.

“I hope that councillors from all parties will recognise these concerns and support the Lib Dem motion – by working together we can make York safer for everyone.”