Wiltshire Police the only Force in England to increase PCSO numbers in past 10 years

Since 2010, Wiltshire Police has been the only police Force in England to increase the number of Police Community Support Officers in Community Policing Teams.

This bucks a national trend where every other Force in the country has reduced the number of PCSOs in their local teams.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Angus Macpherson said: "Community policing has been a priority for me throughout my time as Commissioner and despite the savings that Wiltshire Police has had to make over the past 10 years maintaining community policing has always been top of my agenda.

"Each Force clearly has their own priorities, but here in Wiltshire PCSOs continue to be the bedrock of local policing. They have a different role to play than police officers and by engaging with our communities and supporting those most vulnerable they continue to be the eyes and ears of our communities."

Workforce data from the Home Office shows that since 2010, Wiltshire has increased the number of PCSOs by more than 14% taking the total from 126 PCSOs to 144 PCSOs across the Force. 

Chief Constable Kier Pritchard added: "Our PCSOs carry out an invaluable role within Wiltshire Police and are a key part of our Community Policing Teams.

"They are different to police officers, in that they do not have the same powers, but they are a vital tool when it comes to community engagement.

"Our PCSOs focus on issues such as intelligence gathering, community liaison, foot patrols and law enforcement for matters such as minor crime, antisocial behaviour and road safety, freeing up police officers to focus on the issues that require policing powers.

"We are committed to having a workforce mix within our Community Policing Teams that enables us to respond promptly and effectively to neighbourhood issues and reduce high harm and high risk in our communities."

Workforce data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales