New data revealed by the Liberal Democrats has shown that London is still short of 416 Police and Community Support Officers (PCSOs), representing 35 per cent of the staffing target for the Met.
The data shows that the Met has failed to meet an earlier target set last summer of hiring 500 additional PCSOs by the end of 2023 and has actually lost 36 officers since July.
In June last year the Met outlined plans to hire an extra 500 additional PCSOs by the end of 2023 and a further 1,100 to be hired by mid-2025 – increasing the total number of PCSOs in the capital by 40 per cent initially, and eventually by more than 130 per cent.
Previous data revealed by the Liberal Democrats showed that the number of PCSOs across the capital had declined by 32% since 2015.
The Party has called on the UK Conservative Government to prioritise a return to “proper community policing”, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on their local neighbourhoods.
Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member & Police and Crime Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon said, “PCSOs play a vital role in keeping our communities safe. It is extremely worrying to see that despite a new recruitment drive by the Met, the number of PCSOs has actually fallen from last summer rather than increased.
“Over the last five years, Londoners have suffered as the Conservative Government has enacted savage cuts which have left the police starved of the resources they need to keep people safe.
“Meanwhile Sadiq Khan had to hand back the Government £31 million in funding for the Met after failing to meet Police Officer recruitment targets.
“The target of hiring an extra 500 officers by the end of 2023 is now in tatters and what we need to see is both the Conservatives and Labour to stop using community safety as a political football and to work collaboratively to implement solutions and rebuild public trust in a police service that is an all-time low.”
