TAXPAYERS in Hampshire may have to stump up some of the cash to pay for a new wave of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). The government has allocated 539 PCSOs to the county to deal with low-level disorder on the streets. But although it will fund the officers completely for the first year, it will only contribute 75 per cent towards the total cost in subsequent years. As a result, Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan has estimated that the police authority - the body in charge of budgeting - will be left with a deficit or more than £5,600 over two years. In a report to the police authority, Mr Kernaghan said: "The grant income including funding for the existing PCSOs, funding for years 2006/07, 2007/08 and start up funding - £2,500 per PCSO in the year of recruitment - is a total of £14,527,000. "The estimated expenditure, including start- up costs, salary and direct on-costs, indirect salary on-costs and travel and subsistence costs and the plural policing unit estimated costs is a total of £20,127,100 "There is therefore an estimated shortfall of £5,600,100. This shortfall will start to be a reality from April 2007 and the authority has previously considered resource options. "The constabulary is already bringing these issues to the attention of local authorities and other potential partners. It is unlikely that this will address the whole shortfall. "The shortfall for the financial year 2006-07 and 2007-08 are estimated at £3,301,900 and £2,298,200 respectively. The Police Authority must recognise that the recruitment of the additional PCSOs is essential to enable the force to deliver neighbourhood policing, but in recruiting the additional PCSOs there are significant financial implications." The police authority welcomed the allocation of the new PCSOs to the county's streets which it said would "significantly enhance the capacity for neighbourhood policing" but it expressed concern about the financial implications of it and will now lobby the Home Office and the government about this. There are currently 26 PCSOs patrolling the streets of Hampshire, including four in the central Hampshire police area which covers Alton, Bordon, Petersfield and Liphook. Of these, 25 are funded by the Home Office and the other by Welcome Break at Fleet Services. Mr Kernaghan suggested that the police authority could explore further the method of private firms funding PCSOs. Since the first PCSOs hit the streets in May, police have received numerous letters of thanks and praise for their work. Mr Kernaghan said: "An evaluation has been conducted on the PCSO scheme and although the final results are not yet know, early indications are that the PCSO scheme is extremely successful. "PCSOs have been working with communities to reduce anti-social behaviour in many areas and there have been numerous letters of thanks and praise for the work that they have done. BCU Commanders who have PCSOs in their areas are already noticing the benefits of having them. "To enable the force to deliver neighbourhood policing it is essential that the PCSO scheme is developed to include the further 539 PCSOs. "It will be extremely difficult to successfully deliver neighbourhood policing without this. To fail to do so would have significant implications on the constabulary's potential status as a strategic force," he concluded.
