A Clockwork Police Force: 16-Year-Old PCSOs
IT’S an appy polly loggy of a police force. “Babies on the beat,” says the Mail’s front-page headline.
Here’s the young millicent in his blue shlem and matching jumper and trousers. He’s only 16, but he’s already got his own pad and pencil.
He uses the trappings of power to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for cycling on the pavement, dog fouling, graffiti and fly posting.
He’s not a baby, of course. The mail exaggerates. Babies would make poor policemen, what with their being unable to decipher right from wrong, black from white and are unable to work out pockets.
These two 16-year-olds are newly recruited police community support officers. They have joined the rank and file at Thames Valley Police.
The teenagers are two years too young to join the full police force. But they are not without power.
In addition to the FPN, these Nadsats can detain a suspect for up to 30 minutes, using “reasonable force” if necessary, until an 18-year-old fulltime copper arrives, possibly in his own car with a flashing blue light.
The droogs can make under-18s drinking in a public area “surrender” alcohol. They can seize drugs. They can search for alcohol and tobacco and seize baccy from under 16s.
The Mail is unimpressed. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis calls it a “reckless approach to public safety”.
But these youth are being paid between £17,000-£20,000 a year, depending on hours.
And if they bag a successful haul, they will be able to spend their cash on useful things like a pension and innersoles, rather than drinks and drugs, of which they will have tapped into a plentiful and legitimate supply…
Posted: 13th, August 2007 | In: Tabloids Comments (6) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
August 14th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Don’t kid yourself otherwise, these community support officers are used because they are much cheaper than real police officers.
Thames Valley Police obviously had fewer applicants than they needed and so had to take what was available.
With regards to these two individuals, give them a chance and judge them on their performance before deciding they are not suitable.
I would not want my 16 year old son to do such a job, coppers etc get stabbed, beaten up and killed all the time. Even £20k a year is not enough for that.
August 13th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Its an absolute load of bollox, they are kids, how can they even handle that amount of pay responsibly? or is it the local authorities find that 3/4 salary to a kid is saving on the contribution they make from bleeding us rate payers white?
This sounds just like a Blair brainstorm, but who did think of it?
August 13th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
anorak what is that suppossed to mean?
August 13th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
The police - insert your gripes below…
August 13th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
About 3 years ago I encountered a couple of ‘grown up’ policemen who wished to remove me from premises that I had full authorization to occupy (it was my house). Since they were adament that I should leave the premises and they were unwilling to check on the facts (whether or not it was my house) a scuffle ensued. The first copper pulled my shirt and ripped the buttons whilst muttering something about they had wasted enough time waiting for me to leave, so I headbutted him. They both then tried to drag me into the front garden where I assume they were gonna call for a wagon to take me away. This also did not go to plan, as they tried to drag me through the front door I put my foot on the door frame. As they treid to prize me through the door I removed my foot causing them to both fall on to the grass like a couple of fools. I then ran to the front gate and said if they did not call for other officers to attend I would flee and report them for assault and unlawful detention. They called for backup officers and I informed my next door neighbour (who was watching) and the arriving officers that I had a genuine reason for the 2 officers not to accompany me in the same wagon.
I spent 6 hours in the police station and ended up being charged with assaulting both of the officers and criminal damage since on of the clowns watch strap was broken on the scuffle.
I went to Crown court and pleaded not guilty and during the trial my barrister could be heard laughing throughout the case whilst bellowing such things as preposterous, ludicrous and laughable. The judge then called the pair liars. It was only at this point did I realize that I was clear. This whole fiasco lasted no less than 10 months on bail. I received costs and a paultry sum for my inconvenience and my damaged Boss suit.
If experienced officers can mess up this badly, what hope do we have for the 16 year old inferiority complex boy?
August 13th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
In August last year lucy Tate became the youngest person in the uk to sit her firm buttocks at the bench in a magistrates court in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, at the tender age of just 19. I for one, thought this a lilttle strange as I thought it unlikely that someone with such little life experience could judge another person with any degree of compassion and understanding of the social impact of sentencing. Wether she has done well in the position or not I am unaware.
Now I am informed that 16 year olds will have the right to search and detain persons they suspect of a crime.
I left my quiet town and moved to London when I was 16 believing that I knew it all. I learned pretty damn quick that I did not know everything. In fact I made some serious errors of judgement.
Those errors of judgement caused me some problems but they were of my own creation and I was the victim of the consequences of my actions.
Should these 16 year olds make errors of judgement the victims will be innocent people not themselves.