All PCSO says, ‘I was strangling – just while doing my work’

A Police Community Assistance Officer (PCSO) has told how he was shocked after strangling him on duty.

Exactly three months later, Chrissie Moyes – which is PCSO from 23 years – was attacked with a meat tender in Guildford, Surrey.

The figures obtained by the BBC from the Sussex police show a 40% increase in attacks on PCSO between 2020 and 2024, while the Kent Police has registered an increase of 40% in the attack on emergency workers during the same period. Surrey police said that it could not provide data how this crime records.

A spokesman for the home office said: “The attack on a member of the police workforce is illegal, and those found guilty will have to face full force of the law.”

Neighborhood policing teams will have 3,000 additional officers in the coming months, which will “ensure that not only our communities feel safe, but also our officials,” he said.

Ms. Moyas said that she was attacked by a woman, who was with a drunk and disorganized person under the arrest.

“She was the appropriate Wiley,” Ms. Mois told the BBC. “She grabbed me with my neck and went into a pinner movement.

“I was choking.”

As she struggled to be free, Ms. Mois said that a colleague – another PCSO – managed to get her “extremely aggressive” woman.

“Fortunately, someone saved me.”

But PSCO, who was earlier in the army, said she felt “really weak”.

“I can’t go there without a flashback,” said Ms. Mois.

He said that the back-up took “too long”, which “felt like 40 minutes to an hour”, because many serious incidents were going on.

Under the previous government, the lack of personnel was to blame due to the budget cuts, Ms. Moys said.

The Conservative Party has been approached for comment.

“I have worked for my force for 23 years and have loved my job, although I have not seen such a shortage of such resources as we now have,” he told the BBC.

A spokesperson of the Public and Commercial Services Union said that PCSO cannot prepare anything for “levels of enmity and violence”, they can face the beat.

But he added an uplift in the recruitment and retention of both PCSO and police constables, can help ensure that PCSOs were regularly less work – where they are more likely to be victims of attacks – and when they request help, the response improves time.

A PCSO in Sussex was left with a broken nose after being punched several times while doing single work in May.

He was assisted by members of the public, who helped to take the attacker into custody, while further police support came.

The union spokesman said the violence against PCSOS was fuel by people seeking “social-media-worthy” moments, where police personnel are opposed to try to try something wrong or do something wrong for footage to share them online.

He said that physical attacks can cause mental trauma, so that PCSOs can be motivated to quit their jobs.

Ms. Mois said that in her opinion PCSO could have a “very different” experience with a police officer when her attackers passed through the court.

“This is about being treated evenly,” he said, in detail he was disappointed with the results given by the courts.

A part of the problem, Ms. Moys said, PCSO was publicly seen in a different way from police officers because they usually do not have the same powers or equipment, such as handcuffs or pepper sprays.

“We are called plastic,” he said. “Pink and alcoholic. Vanabe Gafters.”

But he said that PCSO did community work, such as dealing with anti -social behavior, which would be unnecessary and highly expensive to respond to police constables.

He also thought that it was important for PCSO to remain like citizens to “break the uniform obstacles” and gain people’s trust.

“Normally needs to be respected for policing,” Ms. Moyas continued.

“This is a difficult task.”