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.