The Visitor Guides or Town Hosts in Solihull will be trained to tackle criminals. They will be expected to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. The Hosts are employed by the Solihull Business Improvement District (BID).
This is following the news of plans to cut the number of Police Community Support Officers. It is aimed to take hundreds of PCSOs off the streets by 2020. To See blog on PCSO'S cuts click CUTS.
The hosts currently support shops and businesses by patrolling the town centre and guiding visitors. They are learning restraint techniques and self-defence. They have also been given legal advice on what they are allowed to do in emergency situations.
The BID's Town Hosts are well-known in Solihull town centre and provide not just reassurance to visitors but advice to businesses and are a clear deterrent to offenders. By giving the Host's this training it will help them to recognise and deal with different and evolving situations in a more reassured and confident manner.
BID Operations Manager John Timms, who chairs the Solihull Retail Crime Initiative, said: “With the reduction in visible neighbourhood police officers in Solihull town centre the hosts are going to be called upon more by businesses for help and support".
Solihull Police Commander Chief Superintendent Alex Murray said "the expected reduction in PCSOs will not happen immediately and West Midlands Police is still committed to neighbourhood policing".
