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PCSOs to thank for huge fall in crime

Susannah Wright
10/ 4/2008

POLICE chiefs say that a huge fall in crime in south Manchester is down to the number of Police Community Support Officers now patrolling our streets.

New figures show that there were around 3,000 fewer victims of crime over the last 12 months than there were the previous year.

Chief Inspector John McNeil, who is based at West Didsbury police station, says the dramatic fall is due to the work of PCSOs.

Since the number of PCSOs patrolling the streets of south Manchester was raised from nine to 48 last April, robbery has fallen by 24 per cent. Over the same period burglaries are down by just over 12 per cent and vehicle is down by 13 per cent.

Chf Insp McNeil said: "The number main reason for the fall in the crime figures is the number of PCSOs we now have on the streets.

"They have been fantastic for the people of south Manchester. An increased presence of PCSOs acts as a deterrent to criminals, and with the crime prevention measures they take part in, they have a lot more time than other officers to talk to people and advise them on a range of issues."

From April 2006 to March 2007, around 3,000 burglaries were reported in the south Manchester division, which covers Chorlton, Didsbury, Old Moat, Withington, Burnage, Northenden, Woodhouse Park, Sharston, Baguley and Brooklands.

Over the 12 month period beginning in April 2007, that figure fell by 360.

There were 786 robberies over the last 12 months, which fell from 1,022 the previous year, while the number of instances of vehicle crime reported fell by 618 to just over 4,000 over the same time period. The total number of crimes committed fell by 11.4 per cent.

Many opponents of the PCSOs scheme derided it as ‘policing on the cheap’ when it was introduced in 2002. But Manchester Withington MP John Leech welcomed the figures but said he still had concerns over the role of PCSOs. He added: "They don’t work the same hours as other officers and so they don’t deal with emergency issues late at night."