Calls for PCSOs to be reintroduced at Norfolk Police

Norfolk Police axed all 150 of its police community support officers (PCSOs) in 2018

Calls are being made for police community support officers (PCSOs) to be brought back in Norfolk.

The force was the first in the country to scrap all 150 of them in 2018.

But several candidates to be the county's next police and crime commissioner (PCC) have called for their return.

The vote to elect Norfolk's next PCC will take place on Thursday, 2 May, with the result expected to be announced the following day.

There are four candidates representing the Conservative, Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.

The people below have been listed in alphabetical order by surname.

John Crofts is the Liberal Democrat candidate in Norfolk's PCC election

Former headteacher John Crofts is representing the Liberal Democrats in the contest.

He said: "We need to protect everyone in society.

"And it comes back to those police and community support officers who might be wandering up and down the high street and who actually may be a deterrent.

"Or a feeling that you can actually go and talk to someone rather than just pick up a phone and look for help that way."

'Reduced police budgets'

The plan to get rid of all PCSOs was said to be a result of "unparalleled growth in complex crime" alongside "reduced policing budgets".

It was claimed the money saved would allow them to be replaced with "a virtually identical amount of police officers" in the next year.

Government figures showed there were 1,899 full time police officers in Norfolk in September 2023.

That is compared with 1,549 in September 2013. In September 2010, there were 1,631.

Conservative Giles Orpen-Smellie is hoping to retain his role as Norfolk's PCC

Norfolk's current police and crime commissioner is the Conservative Giles Orpen-Smellie, who is standing for a second term.

"I'd like to have more officers," he said. "But I live in the real world and I recognise that resources are finite and limited.

"Should we be looking at more volunteers? Community safety wardens? More special constables?

"There are a number of different ways of looking at the numbers game and making sure the resources are stretched further."

Martin Schmierer is the Green candidate in the Norfolk PCC election

Norwich city councillor, Martin Schmierer, is the Green candidate in the PCC election.

"What we're seeing is that fear of crime is going up," he said. "And that is directly, in my opinion, correlated to the fact that people are not seeing police officers in their community.

"I would like to see PSCOs reintroduced. I think they have an awful lot to be gained by having a link between communities and the police officers."

Sarah Taylor is standing as Labour's candidate to be Norfolk's next PCC

Sarah Taylor is the Labour candidate in the vote. She is a director at a global engineering consultancy, as well as a Breckland district councillor.

"I definitely understand why people want to see more bobbies on the beat because we want them to feel that reassurance," she said.

"PCSOs would almost certainly be a part of the right response, but it should not be to the exclusion of all else, if what we need is better technology to join the dots more quickly between crimes."