beckyhendry asked
Up to 25,000 Community Support Officers (CSOs) are set to patrol the streets of England and Wales by 2008 as part of government plans to increase visible police presence nationwide. BBC News Online spent a day on the beat with CSOs in Harlesden, north west London. CSOs are a new addition to the streets across the UK. Around 3,500 CSOs are currently working in England and Wales. To the untrained eye they could be confused with police constables or traffic wardens. In reality, they are a new breed of police support staff. Although they are unable to make arrests, CSOs have the power to detain people for up to 30 minutes and can tackle minor anti-social behaviour - for example confiscating alcohol and tobacco from minors. They were introduced with the aim of tackling low level crime and anti-social behaviour.
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