Home Office figures show the number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) on Bedfordshire streets has fallen by 55% since 2015.
A total of 47 full-time equivalent PCSOs were employed as of September 2022, compared to 105 that were employed in March 2015. A drop of 58 PCSOs cut from Bedfordshire Police Force in that time.
The Liberal Democrats, who analysed the results have now accused the Government of letting communities in Bedford Borough down.
They claim by taking Police Community Support Officers off the streets it will lead to more crimes going unsolved and victims going without justice.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Police, Cllr Tim Caswell has now called for a return to proper community policing.
“These shocking figures prove that Conservative Ministers are yet again failing to prevent crime in Bedford Borough. They should be ashamed,” said Cllr Caswell.
“Police Community Support Officers play a vital role in keeping our communities safe. The Government should be empowering them to do their job, not slashing their numbers.
“Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and known personally to local people. We will build communities where people are safe – and feel safe, too.”
However, Chief Superintendant John Murphy said while the number of PCSOs has fallen, active police on the streets has actually increased.
“As a result of austerity in 2013/14 we re-shaped our community policing model so it was purely delivered through PCSOs,” said CS Murphy.
“We reviewed this model in 2016/17 and have since increased the number of officers undertaking community policing and community crime activities, to both supplement and replace the work of the PCSOs.
“In addition, we have brought in additional capabilities including proactive Community Enforcement and Rural Crime teams alongside specific community Specials to bolster our offer even further and means the force now has one of the highest proportions of police officers committed to community policing in the country.”
Home Office figures reveal the number of PCSOs is falling across the country. The number of active PCSOs fell by an average of 33% in England and Wales since 2015.
Nationally, England and Wales have lost 4,068 PCSOs since 2015.
