Appendix
ASSESSMENT OF
PCSO DEPLOYMENTS IN
WESTMINSTER AND
CAMDEN BOROUGHS
The findings listed below are drawn from a public
attitude survey administered to residents and business people
in Camden and Westminster. It suggests that a substantial majority
of people are aware of PCSOs; that a majority—and a particularly
high majority in Camden—feel reassured by their presence;
and that a majority believe the deployment of PCSOs has helped
reduce their fear of crime to some degree.
80% of survey respondents in Westminster and
Camden said they were aware that PCSOs were patrolling in their
area, most having become aware of PCSOs through seeing them on
patrol.
More than 50% of Westminster respondents and
70% of those in Camden said that the presence of PCSOs made them
feel more reassured about their safety.
More than 50% of Westminster respondents and
almost 75% of those in Camden felt that PCSOs had helped reduce
their fear of crime. In Westminster around 60% of respondents
claimed that the presence of PCSOs made them feel safer during
the day and in the evening/after dark. In Camden 75% of respondents
claimed to feel safer during the day, and slightly more than a
half said that they felt safer during the evening/after dark.
When asked, respondents in Westminster and Camden
had mixed views about whether, following the introduction of PCSOs,
they felt there had been a reduction in specified activities/offences.
However, in Camden, around 50% of respondents believed that a
reduction had occurred in "people using or dealing drugs
in public", while over 25% believed a reduction had occurred
in "mugging and theft". These offences were ones which
Camden respondents had previously rated as causing them most concern.
The findings also reveal some differences in
the views expressed by Camden respondents (who have experienced
Community PCSOs) and those in Westminster (who have experienced
Security PCSOs). More than 50% of Camden respondents, compared
with around 20% of those in Westminster, believed that they could
discriminate between the uniforms worn by PCSOs and those worn
by police and other uniformed bodies such as council wardens,
traffic wardens and private security guards.
More than 67% of Camden respondents compared
with 20% of Westminster respondents believed that "people
value PCSOs because, when patrolling the streets on foot, they
are directly accessible to the public".
More than 50% of Camden respondents, compared
with 20% of those from Westminster, agreed that "PCSOs provide
an effective way of meeting the public's demand for a greater
police presence on the street".
| 
