Sam Townend for Bristol North West

Dear Sir,
 
I was delighted with the Labour Cabinet proposal to pay for an additional 43 Police Community Support Officers for the City on top of the existing provision from the Government.  Having long campaigned for more neighbourhood policing it is clear that the provision of locally based policing and the use of Police Community Support Officers is both useful and popular with residents.  Police Community Support Officers act as eyes and ears for the regular Police, provide re-assurance by their presence on our streets, carry out specific work in relation to tackling anti social behaviour and dealing with difficult young people, as well as picking up environmental problems and reporting them to the Council.  Importantly they free up PCs to carry out the more specialist work such as detection and they actually have over 30 powers themselves.  This is an example of practical politics that should make a real difference on our streets.
 
I am, as you would expect, especially campaigning for a fair share of the new PCSOs to come to the North of City which has relatively suffered through insufficent provision by the Police Authority compared with other areas in the Somerset and Avon area.  It is wrong that the Avonmouth and Shirehampton, Henbury, Sea Mills, and Lawrence Weston beats separately each only have one PCSO presently allocated to them and wrong that Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Westbury-on-Trym wards together only have a single PCSO.  I want to see the Police Authority ensure that changes and soon.
 
It is tragic that when PCSOs were first introduced by the Labour Government just a few years ago they were opposed by both opposition parties.  I hope that their representatives in the Council House now see sense and support this good idea.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Sam Townend
Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Bristol North West