The Met strengthens its presence on London's streets today, with Police Community Support Officers walking the beat across four more boroughs of London.

The new grade of police they hold the power of arrest but are not classed as full constables was first trialled in Westminster in September 2002.

Today they will begin patrols in the boroughs of Camden, Greenwich, Kensington, and Chelsea and Lambeth.

PCSOs, as the Met refers to them, act as the ears and eyes of the police on the street made necessary because so many police officers who used to be on the beat are now tied up with paperwork, or tackling organised crime.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Bryan, overseeing the introduction of PCSOs, said: "These new Community Support Officers will provide a very welcome addition to London's boroughs.

"They will be working to tackle local problems and quality-of-life issues, such as litter and graffiti, that we know many Londoners are concerned about.

"I am sure local residents and business will be reassured by their visible, permanent presence on the streets."

Mayor Ken Livingstone intends to have more than 700 PCSOs walking the streets of boroughs across the capital by March 2004.

At that point, they will constitute nearly 2.5% of total police numbers in the Met, under the mayor and Metropolitan Police Authority's plans.

January 27, 2003 13:00