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If civilian staff doubled in American police departments in ten years, odds are there would be some discussion about whether or not that was a good thing for public safety. And according to an article in the UK Mail newspaper, that's exactly the kind of question people are asking after it was determined that the number of civilian police staff has nearly doubled over the last decade in the United Kingdom.
The growth in police community support officers (PCSOs) and other civilian staff has way outstripped the rise in fully sworn officers, according to a report by the Police Federation.
In fact there are just one and a half cops for every civilian in the whole of England.
And at least one local police agency, Surrey, has more civilian staff than certified cops.
That same force has the worst crime fighting numbers of any agency in the country.
The Police Federation says that politicians put short-term cost savings ahead of public safety when they changed policies in order to hire more civilian personnel.
The United Kingdom has seen a 16 per cent increase in police officers but an 80 per cent rise in civilian police staff over the last decade.
"I find it alarming that there is no tangible evidence that even suggests, let alone proves, the value brought by "civilianizing" increasing numbers of non-certified personnel," the federation chairman Paul McKeever told reporters.
"The public wants more police officers on the beat. Instead we have increasing numbers of unaccountable, unidentifiable police staff who do not have the flexibility or resilience to give what is needed as an emergency service," McKeever went on to say.
In a related story, the San Francisco P.D. has just decided to outsource all crime scene work to civilian staff. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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