Cheshire Police revealed last month that they will no longer go forward with the proposal announced just before Christmas to cut Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) jobs by up to 70%.
This comes after UNISON PCSOs sent a strong message to Cheshire Police last December by voting overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.
The local community also stood firmly against the cuts by sending over 1,900 letters to the Police and Crime Commissioner and thousands voted in the public consultation to ‘do more’ to protect front line police staff jobs.
Through the action taken by UNISON members and Cheshire residents, over 65% of the PCSO workforce have secured their jobs, and the local community have kept a police presence their streets, no longer feeling that public safety is at jeopardy.
Moreover, Cheshire Police UNISON have not simply kept their eye on the issue directly in front of them – they knew it was a national, systemic issue of chronic underfunding.
In December, police staff members attended Parliament to lobby MPs for proper police funding and to call for an end to ‘Operation Uplift’. Politicians listened and the government has now acknowledged that the programme resulted in too many officers being drawn into back-office roles, rather than frontline community policing, with forces left with officers undertaking HR and administrative duties.
The fight doesn’t end here. Together, we will continue to lobby national government to ensure policing receives the funding it needs with any future reforms valuing and protecting police staff jobs.
Cheshire Police Branch Secretary, Joanne Moorcroft, said;
“Every PCSO who wanted to remain in their role has been able to do so, and there have been no compulsory redundancies whatsoever. This is a clear demonstration of what we can achieve when members stand together and fight for our jobs.
“UNISON members and our local community have sent a clear message to Cheshire Police and other Constabularies across the country. The public need PCSOs. We need boots on the ground, and our communities refuse to lose the invaluable direct link to the police that PCSOs provide.”
Cheshire PCSOs said;
“During a time when many of us felt hopeless, standing together with fellow UNISON members and the local community gave us hope and secured us our jobs.
“When everything was in doubt, we believed in our value and made sure that Cheshire Police did too.
Now, Cheshire residents can be reassured that the majority of PCSOs will still be present on their streets, providing safety and being the first port of call when confronted with anti-social behaviour.”