We Can Terrorise Them! Young Offender Perceptions of Police Community Support Officers
| Date | 01 June 2009 |
| DOI | 10.1350/pojo.2009.82.2.471 |
| Published date | 01 June 2009 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
NICHOLAS PAMMENT
Lecturer in Criminal Justice, University of Portsmouth
WE CAN TERRORISE THEM!
YOUNG OFFENDER
PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE
COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICERS
The public have regularly called for the return of the ‘bobby on
the beat’ and the ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ way of policing, and
under the Police Reform Act (2002) we have seen a return to
neighbourhood policing. However, uniform presence on our
streets is likely to come in the form of Police Community
Support Officers (PCSOs). According to the Home Office, the
public value the role of the PCSO but the media representation
of these officers is far from positive. PCSOs spend much of
their time dealing with nuisance caused by youths. With this in
mind, observations and short semi-structured interviews were
undertaken with a number of young offenders who were under
the supervision of a Youth Offending Team (YOT) to explore
their perceptions of PCSOs. The results show that they have
poor credibility and are not considered a deterrent by the
young people.
Keywords: antisocial behaviour; community policing;
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs); young
offender perceptions
Introduction
According to consecutive British Crime Surveys (BCS), there
has been a fall in crime rates since 1995 but the public insight is
that crime is actually on the increase (Simmons, 2002: 79;
Muncie & Wilson, 2004: 51; see also Nicholas & Walker, 2003;
Audit Commission, 1999). It is clear therefore that there is a gap
between ‘achievement and recognition’ or a ‘reassurance gap’
(ACPO, 2001) and it can be argued that this is caused by the
public perception of crime and personal regular experience of it.
Generally, it is the low-level crime experienced on a daily basis
that has the greatest impact upon a sense of security and quality
of life, and surveys have regularly shown that the public want the
The Police Journal, Volume 82 (2009) 171
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2009.82.2.471
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