Operational partnerships - Police Community Support Officers policy (O38)

1. Security protective marking

1.1. Not protectively marked.

2. Summary of changes

2.1. This policy was reviewed in February 2022 and the following amendments have been made:

• updates to PCSO call type attendance

Compliance with this policy and any linked standard operating procedures is mandatory.

3. What this policy is about

3.1. This policy applies to police community support officers and their supervisors.

3.2. This policy details the role, powers and deployment of a police community support officer (PCSO) in Kent. 

4. Statement of policy

4.1. The Police Reform Act 2002 created a new role in the police service, namely that of the PCSO. A PCSO is a non-warranted police staff employee (PSE), who is an employee of the Police and Crime Commissioner, designated with certain powers by the chief constable.

4.2. PCSOs are funded by Kent Police and in respect of specific roles, a variety of partners including district and parish councils across Kent, housing associations, schools, and other private sector sponsors.

4.3. The role of the PCSO has been defined by College of Policing June 2015. PCSOs should:

• undertake public facing duties in uniform
• be visible in the communities on foot or cycle patrol (vehicle if in a rural community)
• deal with anti-social behaviour (ASB), low-level crime and incidents, local problems, priorities, and quality of life issues
• support and improve service to victims and vulnerable people
• conduct community engagement and problem-solving activity

5. 

5.1.  In order to achieve this aim, supervisors should ensure that each PCSO maximises the amount of time spent on patrol duties/working within the community as opposed to administrative or other non-operational duties.

5.2.  A role requirement exists for the generic PCSO Grade D (role code SDV043) and problem-solving task force PCSO (team leader) Grade E (role code SDV042).

The College of Policing have revised the PCSO handbook in July 2019. This should be used as the primary reference for any queries in relation to PCSO deployment and powers.

Further details can be found, along with the operational handbook on the College of Policing website.

6. Implications of the policy  

6.1. Financial implications - police community support officers are uniformed police staff with limited enforcement powers. There are costs incurred in initial foundation training and officer safety training.

7. Equality Impact Assessment (EIA)

7.1. This policy has been assessed with regard to its impact on race and diversity equality. As a result of this assessment, the policy has been graded as having a high potential impact.

8. Monitoring and review

8.1. This policy will be reviewed every two years or when new legislation or guidance amends current policy. The next review will take place in February 2024.   

9. Security

9.1. Kent Police have measures in place to protect the security of your data in accordance with our Information Management policy.

10. Retention and disposal of records

10.1. Kent Police will hold data in accordance with our Records Review, Retention and Disposal policy.