'Cash pressure forced PCSOs' 20:00 finish plan'

Chief Constable Richard Cooper said the move would save the force money

"Financial challenges" have forced the need for a consultation on police community support officers (PCSOs) finishing shifts by 20:00, a new police chief has admitted.

Chief Constable Richard Cooper said West Mercia Police would be saving money on extra payment officers get when they work unsociable hours.

Following a backlash over the plan by councillors in Shropshire last month, Mr Cooper stressed that if the consultation pans out, the same amount of PCSOs would still be working the same amount of hours.

"Its not a case of do we need to save money, it's how do we save the money?," he told BBC Hereford & Worcester.

"The cost of running the organisation is now stripping the funding available to us," he said, speaking on the mid-morning Hot Seat spot, on Thursday.

"We've had to make some really difficult considerations. Our police staff and officers receive an unsociable hours payment for working into the evening and we need to save money."

Anti-social behaviour issues

As chief constable Mr Cooper - who was appointed in March after working in the role temporarily since last August - is responsible for the delivery of operational policing across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.

A caller on the programme's phone-in had asked about whether the PCSOs are needed later than 20:00.

In response, Mr Cooper said many officers deal with anti-social behaviour issues, which generally "diminishes rapidly" by that time.

"The data supports the fact the peak [for anti-social behaviour] is between 5 and 6. It starts dropping thereafter and stops dramatically after 8 o'clock," he explained.