THE 142 police community support officers in Suffolk did not issue a single fixed penalty notice in an entire year, it has emerged.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act showed huge differences between forces for the numbers of fines issued by PCSOs between April 2006 and April 2007.

The officers, who can earn up to £24,500 year, were introduced by the Government in 2003 to provide community reassurance through high visibility patrols.

They can also deal with low-level crime and anti-social behaviour, having the power to issue fines for offences such as riding on footpaths, parking, dog fouling and litter-dropping.

Figures revealed in a national newspaper show nationally 27,711 fixed penalty notices were handed out by 9,923 community support officers from 29 forces in the 12-month period.

But the survey said PCSOs in Suffolk, Staffordshire and Dyfed Powys had not handed out any.

Last night, Jim Keeble, chairman of Suffolk Police Federation, said it was unfair to criticise the officers for not handing out fines because their purpose had always been to make the public feel safer by being visible.

But he said the federation maintained its view that the Government should have funded more police officers rather than PCSOs because they had full powers in dealing with crime.

Mr Keeble said: 'The intention when PCSOs were brought in was for them to be the visible face of policing on the streets, and therefore the eyes and ears, to build up contacts with younger people hanging around in bus shelters.

'I think the figures for Suffolk show they are being used for the role they were intended for.

'Our issue with PCSOs remains the same; we would like to see the Government spending many, many millions on fully sworn police officers.

'Police officers do not have that time any longer to do community work. If you invest money into extra police officers, hopefully they would have time to do community work as well.'

Mr Keeble also said the PCSOs had been trained to sort out problems using communication skills rather than resorting to giving out tickets.

'I would be concerned if tickets were being issued simply to continue with the sanction detection rate which we are all judged by. I think they're doing a good job,' he added.

But Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley said he wanted to know why PCSOs from other forces had handed out fines when Suffolk had not given out any.

Mr Ruffley said: 'Police community support officers are useful because they will deter crime because of their visibility.

'However, I will be writing to the Chief Constable of Suffolk, Simon Ash, to ask what direction he is giving Suffolk's PCSOs about handing out notices because it seems to be less than comparable counties.'

A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said PCSOs had an important role in keep communities safe.

'They concentrate on combating low-level crime and anti-social behaviour while providing reassurance through high visibility patrols on the street,' she said.

'In Suffolk, PCSOs can issue fixed penalty notices for parking and associated offences.

'They can also issue penalty notices for disorder in police custody areas. The Constabulary is looking to extend the scope of this power in the near future.'

Essex Police said last night it did not hold specific data relating to fixed penalty notices issued by PCSOs and could not provide a figure.