Are on-site police a good thing for schools?

The general role of a Police Community Support Officer (or PCSO) seems largely to provide a visible presence that has a preventative affect on crime, particularly anti- social behaviour. Now, as well as patrolling their local community, PCSO’s can have a role in schools. According to the Metropolitan Police website, these officers can work with school staff to solve problems within the school, patrol the school and the surrounding area, and “use restorative justice to deal with incidents involving students.”

The website says PCSO’s “make people feel safer in their community and close the gap between crime and the fear of crime.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds reassuring! Another task they have is to provide front line support for their officer colleagues in dealing with minor offences.

No special qualifications are required to become a Police Community Support Officer. The post requires certain personal characteristics such as being able to deal with difficult people, having good communication skills, being physically fit, being patient, and so on.

Some schools seem to be experimenting with using PCSO’s on their premises to improve pupil behaviour. The idea is that seeing a uniform around will make potentially misbehaving pupils think twice. In many circumstances, this might well be the result.

However, there are two points I would raise. First, as far as I know, PCSO’s operating in schools do not receive any extra training in how to deal with children - although police forces will try and place officers in schools who do have some relevant experience. However, this may not always happen. Second, and more relevant when considering bullying, schools could be in danger of using the PCSO to deal with aggressive behaviour, without first understanding the cause of the behaviour.

In a previous blog I referred to the fact that in certain circumstances, bullied children can reach a point when they snap and attack their tormentors. As I pointed out, such children are in a particularly vulnerable state of mind. I think that having a person obviously associated with authority in the community, who represents a legal system that can put people in jail, may result in a worsening of the state of mind of the bullied child.

It is essential that schools keep efficient and effective records of bullied children and that they approach incidents with care and sensitivity. Bullied children are extremely vulnerable and must be readily identified and helped efficiently, effectively and speedily. The use of PCSO’s in dealing with bullied children, in my view, runs the risk of increasing the pain and isolation of such children as well as further reducing their feelings of self worth.