YOUTH nuisance problems are not being dealt with effectively because police support officers do not have powers of arrest, according to a councillor.

Anti-social behaviour problems are often dealt with by the borough’s 45 police community support officers who only have the power to detain suspects for 30 minutes until police arrive.

At a council meeting last week, Coun Ron Fisher highlighted concerns about drunken yobs in Darfield but said the problem affected the whole borough.

“Youths are being moved from one area to another because officers do not have powers to arrest them and, if they have to wait for police support, that can take a good length of time.”

Police authority member Coun John Parkinson said that a forthcoming government bill on local policing would not give PCSOs powers of arrest, and he supported it.

“If a PCSO arrests someone, they will spend the next four hours in the office filling in paperwork. They won’t be on the streets where they’re needed.

“We want people on the street. The people of Barnsley want people on the street.”

He added that Barnsley’s local policing structure is admired throughout the country as a model for success.

“Rotherham, Sheffield and Doncaster are crying out for what we’ve got here. The power of arrest is not an issue.”

A police spokesman said that PCSOs do have some advantages over regular police officers. “They’re our eyes and ears, and they gather a lot of information.

“People don’t feel as intimidated talking to them as they do to police, so they are very useful for gathering intelligence.”