What is a Police Community Support Officer?
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are members of support staff employed, directed and managed by the Police. They work to complement and support regular police officers, providing a visible and accessible uniformed presence to improve the quality of life in the community and offer greater public reassurance.
PCSOs are not replacement police officers but are there to address some of the tasks that do not require the experience or powers held by police officers, which often take officers away from more appropriate duties.
What do they do?
Their primary purpose is to improve the community and offer greater public reassurance. In support of regular police officers they work within a targeted patrol area to provide a visible and accessible uniformed presence, working with partners and community organisations to address anti-social behaviour, the fear of crime, environmental issues and other factors which affect the quality of people’s lives. For example, reporting vandalism or damaged street furniture, reporting suspicious activity, providing crime prevention advice, deterring juvenile nuisance and visiting victims of crime.
What powers do they have in Cleveland?
All PCSOs have the following standard powers:
- Issue Fixed Penalty Notices for cycling on a footpath
- Issue Fixed Penalty Notices for littering
- Power to require name and address
- Power to seize alcohol – from adults in designated areas and from under 18s in all areas
- Power to seize tobacco from under 16s
- Power to seize drugs and require name and address for possession of drugs
- Power to enter and search premises for the purposes of safeguarding life or preventing serious damage to property
- Power to seize vehicles used to cause alarm
- Power to remove abandoned vehicles
- Power to stop cycles
- Power to control traffic
- Power to carry out road checks
- Power to place signs
- Power to enforce cordoned areas
- Power to stop and search in authorised areas (under Terrorism Act 2000)
- Power to photograph persons away from a police station
In addition to these, Cleveland’s Chief Constable has granted the following designated powers to PCSOs within Cleveland:
- Limited power to enter licensed premises, i.e. off licenses
- Power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for graffiti and fly posting
- Power to issue Penalty Notices for Disorder for:
- Throwing fireworks
- Drinking in a designated public area
- Supply of excessively loud fireworks
- Using public electronic communications network to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety
- Breach of fireworks curfew
- Possession of a category 4 firework
- Possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework
- Sale of alcohol to a person under 18
- Buying or attempting to buy alcohol by or on behalf of under 18s
- Purchase of alcohol for a person under 18 on licensed premises
- Delivery of alcohol to a person under 18 or allowing such delivery