Police Community Support Officer

If you like working with people and want to make a difference in local communities consider becoming a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO).

PCSOs are an essential part of our neighbourhood policing teams. As a PCSO you will work closely with local communities to provide support and tackle issues such as anti-social behaviour.

PCSOs have different powers to Police Officers so you wouldn’t be expected to make arrests, interview suspects or investigate the crime. Instead, you would focus on building key links within the community and supporting the wider neighbourhood policing team on crime prevention initiatives.

Working as a PCSO you can expect to:

Patrol neighbourhoods and be a contact point for the local community.
Build relationships with local community groups, businesses and schools.
Provide support, reassurance and guidance to local communities following crime incidents.
Communicate with the public in varied ways including face to face community events and virtually through social media and online chats.
Protect crime scenes and provide support at large public gatherings.
Make house visits and help with missing person enquiries.

Case study

Bethany Bennington, PCSO

I have been working for Staffordshire police as a PCSO for three years. Engaging with the community is vital for resolving issues at an early stage and I enjoy gaining positive relationships with the public and partners. I like to look for causes of problems proactively as opposed to attending reactive calls.

The role is what you make it. If you work hard and push yourself the results are endless and very rewarding.

Staffordshire police, especially Cannock NPT are very supportive and ensure the welfare and thoughts of their officers are heard. The force priorities focus on what matters to the public which give me with the essential tools to provide the best service I can to ensure protection and reassurance in the community.

Case study

Costas Karpi, PCSO

Working for Staffordshire Police has presented many opportunities for me. As well as my usual PCSO responsibilities, I have been fortunate enough to be part of the Rural & Wildlife Crime Unit as well as recently being trained in the role of an Early Intervention Officer.

Variety is key to the PCSO role. Every day is different and you never know what you will be dealing with on any given day.

Case study

Claire Lindop, PCSO

I’m out in the community dealing with different situations and solving problems on a daily basis. I enjoy being able to build relationships with the public as it is important they have trust and confidence in us and the work we do. Being a visible presence also means that I can assist in gathering local information and intelligence to help prevent crime and anti-social behaviour in the future, not only on behalf of the police but also in close working relationship with other partners and agencies.

Prior to becoming a PCSO I was a call handler taking 999 and 101 calls. This gave me great experience and throughout I have always felt supported and encouraged to do the best I can in my role.

Case study

Stephen Sherratt, PCSO

What I enjoy most about the PCSO role is going into schools and having the opportunity to work alongside different community groups. I also organise things like a football tournament which involves children in care homes, local schools, police and local businesses where we raise money for charity. So far we have raised money for the Dogs Trust and Dementia UK which is an incredibly rewarding part of my role.

Having first joined the force as a PCSO in 2007, I also like to pass on my experiences to new recruits and help with training.

How to become a PCSO

Our PCSOs come from varied backgrounds, it doesn’t matter if you’ve not worked in a similar role previously if you have the enthusiasm to provide assistance and reassurance to the public you are the person we are looking for.

Qualifications

There is no formal educational requirement for this role but you will have to complete written tests. To be considered suitable for this role you will need to be customer focussed, have experience of working with the public, be able to deal with challenging situations and work as part of a team.

Skills and experience

We need people who are:

Confident and able to explain things clearly.
Quick to adapt to changing situations whilst remaining calm.
Able to work as part of a team and also confident to work alone.
Good at communicating messages to other people, face to face, over the phone or online.
Able to negotiate and deal with confrontational situations.
Happy to be outside in all weather conditions.

If you’d like to be a PCSO visit our current vacancies page to see if we have any recruitment opportunities.