I read with interest your story (The Argus, April 27) regarding the police officers and a mobility scooter.

However, I would draw your attention to the glaring error in the first line of the report which states "a couple of police officers"

They are not police officers but are in fact police community support officers (PCSOs). I believe this compounds what we in the Police Federation have said since their inception, that PCSOs are a way of policing on the cheap.

Their uniforms are so similar to police officers' that the public are fooled into believing they are better protected than they are. Should there have been a violent incident nearby to these PCSOs, they would not have had the powers of a police officer to deal with any confrontation. They are trained to stand back and observe.

This inevitably leads to the accusation that the police are just standing by doing nothing.

The chairman of the Sussex Police Federation said in your paper (The Argus, March 26) that Sussex proportionally has 304 fewer officers than the average for shire forces. This is something the public may not realise because they are fooled by the presence of PCSOs.

Don't get me wrong - PCSOs do play a valuable role in Sussex complementing and supporting policing but they are too often mistaken for fully sworn and fully empowered police officers.

Mark White
secretary,
Sussex Police Federation