Page 50 - Phonebox Magazine August 2016

Interviewing a PCSO
Christina Lewington
by Josh Totton
Whilst undertaking work experience with the Phonebox Magazine, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to talk to Christina Lewington, our local Community
DSupport Of cer.
ue to my aspirations to pursue a career in policing, I took the opportunity to get a snapshot of what life is like behind closed
doors in the police force. With my social awareness of public perceptions and local concerns particularly surrounding the burglaries which have taken place in more recent times, I felt that this was the ideal opportunity to delve a little deeper into the pressures faced by the force.
Whilst in the interview, I asked the PCSO many questions to get an insight into the problems in this area and how they are preventing crime without the power of arrest.
I began by asking Christina how long she has worked as a PCSO. She joined in 2008 at 56 years of age, and she told me that at that age it is rare to switch to a different job but yet the police still took her on board. She chose it because she wanted to serve the community. So does Christina nd the job rewarding? She explained, “Yes, and much more than I hoped for!” This goes to show that becoming a person who upholds the community should feel proud and feel that they have accomplished a lot with the powers they have to stop certain
Next, I asked if Christina thinks the public perception is positive in the area and she explained that feedback from the public is mostly positive, and she believes that they are engaging with the public to understand what they need to do with the community to x things such as the robberies.
After that I asked a question about the spending cuts: “In the last few years with the widely publicised spending cuts hitting the police budgets, how would you say this has changed your role?” She answered with “drastically!” It has not changed their role speci cally but they now do the same role with fewer resources. For example, they do not have as many cars, so Christina often has to take the bus to travel around the local area. The next questions I asked were about problems such as cyber-bullying and how to prevent recurring incidents.
I began by asking if cyber-bullying was a problem in Olney. Christina said it isn’t, because it does not happen anymore like it used to. To get more information about cyber- bullying I asked if teens were the main victims and suspects of it due to the high use of social media? She said that the young teens such 10-13 years old were the main suspects and victims of cyber-bullying.
After that I was curious as to how long it would take for PCSOs to appear at an incident. Christina explained that people can’t report individuals unless she is on the street and a witness tells them, while they’re on duty. Moreover, when on duty, it can take her a short amount of minutes to reach an incident but if the police are in central Milton Keynes it could take up to 30 minutes.
I then asked if there are any under-age drinkers in the area. Christina replied with a simple, “yes”, so I asked about preventing the issue. She said it is very difficult to prevent but they can take the drink away from anybody if they are drinking which is causing anti-social behaviour... Regardless of age! For my own interest, I asked what route Christina would recommend to me as I aspire to follow a career in policing. She explained that at least two A-Levels are needed to qualify and pursue the career.
The interview was a very interesting way of identifying the ways the police work in the area and how they prevent certain things such as cyber-bullying in Olney. This was a massive interview for me because I aspire to be a police of cer or be linked to the police force. Also, this interview should help the public see how the police work in this area.
things such as discrimination.
After that I asked what hurdles Christina faces as a PCSO. She said that they are called disrespectful things because of them being “failed police of cers”. In fact, they are people who help the people of Milton Keynes yet they face disrespectful comments from them. Also, she mentioned there is hostile behaviour towards them; mainly by the people who are already in the wrong.
Following on, I asked about the challenges PCSOs face in the Olney area. Christina explained that there are no speci c challenges but there are always some issues such as the vulnerable adults and children who they have to support in any way they can. She also thinks there are no speci c challenges because Olney is a nice area and is a relatively safe area to live.
I then asked if they believe they have the resources needed to prevent robberies, as robberies are a high concern from the public as seen on social media. She answered yes, because the public over exaggerate robberies, in turn causing the police to have to carry out investigations, as they are concerned for the population of Olney.
50 Phonebox Magazine | August 2016