Hundreds more town hall staff to get police-style powers
Hundreds more town hall staff and private security guards are to be handed police-style powers in a fresh Home Office drive to create an army of civilian "spies".
Almost 1,700 people, also including car park attendants and dog wardens, already have powers to hand out a string of fines and even take photographs of low level offenders under the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme.
But the Government has quietly announced it plans to review the scheme with chief police officers to see how it can be expanded further.
Rank and file officers warned the move is "blurring the lines" of legitimate law enforcement and is creating a "third tier" of policing.
Even chief constables are now cautious over the scheme following it's rapid growth, which has seen numbers increase by a fifth in just 12 months.
It will further fuel concerns that, with increasing budget pressures, the Government is keen to push for policing on the cheap.
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