The controversy over Police Community Support Officers deepened last night with the emergence of a leaked memo that "makes a mockery" of their ability to fight crime. The memo states that PCSOs - dubbed Blunkett's Bobbies after the home secretary who created them - are not allowed to tackle violent yobs. They are also barred from responding to any serious incident where there is not a fully-trained police officer already present.The risk assessment compiled by Lancashire Police even forbids the PCSOs to issue fines, detain people or confiscate alcohol if any violence is threatened. Instead, they are instructed to call for back-up or withdraw if they face confrontation by a member of the public.
The embarrassing leak raises further questions about the wisdom of spending money on relatively powerless "scarecrows" - some as young as 16 - rather than using it to increase the numbers of fully trained officers.
Last month, it emerged that two PCSOs in neighbouring Greater Manchester had not attempted to rescue drowning ten-year-old Jordon Lyon from a lake in Wigan in May. The force said the pair were not trained in water rescues and had been ordered to wait for a real police officer to arrive, by which time it was too late. Jordon's grieving mother, Tracy Ganderton, branded PCSOs "plastic bobbies" and called for them be scrapped.