Cash call to keep officer

Sep 10 2009 by Barry Ellams, Chester Chronicle

TOWNSFOLK could be asked to fork out an extra £1,700 to retain Frodsham’s Police Community Support Officer.

PCSO Kay Swindlehurst has been pounding the streets in Frodsham for three years and was welcomed by town leaders and the community police team as a valuable recruit to help combat illegal parking and antisocial behaviour.

Frodsham Town Council has part-funded its own PCSO to the tune of £11,000 a year – but the cost is set to rise and the council is facing a revised annual bill of up to £12,700.

“It’s not unreasonable to expect an increase but this seems a bit steep,” said Cllr John Maddock, chair of the town council Finance, Personnel and General Purposes Committee.

He said the full council would consider the issue at its meeting on September 28, but until the exact scale of the increase was known, the authority was unable to decide whether or not to retain the PCSO.

He added: “I personally think the police in Frodsham do an absolutely first class job and our PCSO has contributed to that. She has been good value for money to date.

“But we understand the duties of PCSOs could be changed, so a decision would have to be deferred until we know exactly what we would be getting.”

Town councillor Rita Shearn said she was told there would ‘definitely be a rise’ when she attended a PCSO Local Council Liaison Group meeting.

The town council held a public meeting in 2006 before deciding to fund a PCSO, and some residents argued against being ‘taxed twice’ for the police service.

Cllr Shearn added: “Kay is very personable and approachable and she is a good presence in Frodsham.

“I think she’s doing a good job and it’s possible that any increase would be fixed for three years. But it’s residents’ money we are talking about.”