The holy Daily Mail seem to have pulled that story, maybe it wasn't true.
The problem with (P)SCOs is when on purpose or not, they are presented as being the police. The are not.
The public want Police on the beat, it reassues them Unfortunately, that is a poor use of man-power. A beat officer is unlikely to encounter any crime for several weeks and when he/she does, they will call for backup. The CSOs were seen as a way of providing this function without taking away valuable resources and time.
They are little use, but then again, real police on the beat are of little use.
They do have some powers which are listed here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_Community_ Support_Officer
They should not be presented as or seen as a replacement for the Police. To do so is to mislead the public. All that said, they do serve a useful function (not policing), and I know elderly residents near to where I live like the fact they are around.