Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in Newtown and throughout the region need to have greater powers, according to Powys county councillors.
Members gave their views at the Health Care and Housing Scrutiny Committee as part of a wide-ranging discussion centred on the work being carried out by the Community Safety Partnership.
They are hoping that Dyfed Powys Police Crime Commissioner, Dafydd Llywelyn, and Chief Constable Mark Collins will come to a future meeting to discuss why the force PCSOs have fewer powers than others.
Former policeman and current county councillor, Phil Pritchard, who represents the Castle Ward in Welshpool, said: “It’s very noticeable that we are receiving a second-class service.
“In North Wales, the PCSOs have more duties, responsibility and authority than they do here in Dyfed-Powys. They could be doing more and it’s a matter for the chief constable to delegate those authorities to PCSOs.
Cllr Pritchard added that he was not being critical of Dyfed-Powys PCSOs and what he said is based on what he had witnessed in North Wales.
He believed from talking to PCSOs, they themselves wanted extra powers.
Cllr Pritchard added: “They are walking around, see something wrong but don’t have the power to do anything about it. All they can do is go back to the station and tell someone else who might or might not be able to go out.”
Cllr Roger Williams added: “It would be good to know the difference in what PCSOs are asked to do in North Wales and here, it would be good to get the Chief Constable or Police and Crime Commissioner here to explain.”
Cllr Mike Williams believed that the duties stipulated for PCSOs should be the same the length and breadth of Wales.
“They are well respected in Machynlleth, but they should all be singing from the same hymn book,” said Cllr Williams.
CSP Co-Ordinator, Fay Smith, said that an added problem was that Dyfed-Powys Police Force covered four local authority areas, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire as well as Powys.
Other authorities had their own priorities due to the sorts of crime there.
Ms Smith explained: “In Carmarthenshire you have big urban areas of Carmarthen and Llanelli. They are not going to be so interested in rural crime and they all have a say.
“I hate to say it, but we did a lot of work on dog fouling issues, reports were sent to cabinet. But the other three authorities did not want to give PCSOs the powers to deal with dog fouling.”
