About PCSOs

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are uniformed civilians with a specialised set of legal powers.

PCSOs work as part of a Neighbourhood Policing Teams(NPTs) alongside police officers and partner organisations to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in vulnerable communities. Their main role is to patrol on foot, ensuring a highly visible presence on the streets and to work proactively to address crime trends and problems within local communities.

We are reviewing the role of our NPTs to ensure that they focus on policing priorities in the county’s most vulnerable communities. Typical duties for a PCSO will include:

• Patrolling on foot or bicycle in all weathers
• Dealing with minor offences
• Working with partner organisations (such as local councils, schools and community organisations)
• Conduct house-to-house enquiries
• Guarding a crime scene
• Tackling anti-social behaviour

PCSOs have a range of legal powers to help them in their roles. However, they do not have the powers of a police officer to detain people or take them into custody so there will be times when the back-up of a police officer colleague is needed, the legal powers which are given to a PCSO do vary from force to force.