Community support officers (PCSO) are a vital part of the country’s security system. They may have less legal rights than full police officers but they are still very important in the way they provide the community with a direct link to the police. There are several requirements to becoming a PCSO but no where near as many as for becoming a police officer. Here are some of the things you would have to consider before becoming a PCSO:
- Handling Responsibility - You will have a lot of responsibility to handle as you are given some of the police powers, for example; you will be expected to detain offenders until police arrive, provide people with fixed penalty notices for any anti-social behaviour and you'll also have to direct traffic and remove vehicles.
- Spending Time on Your Feet - A majority of the time you will be on your feet walking the beat you have been assigned to. You act as a visible prevention of violent crime and anti-social behaviour, people will feel comfortable approaching you so you need to be able to communicate with the public professionally and calmly in awkward situations.
- You must be confident - You will have to show a degree of confidence when it comes to dealing with offenders because you will have to assert authority in potentially difficult situations.
Once you have decided to apply then your application will go through a number of stages:
- Your application will have to pass an initial check stage.
- You will then have to take a written test.
- You will then have to go through an interview process.
- When these stages are completed you will take part in interactive role plays as a beginning for your training.
When it comes to your training it used to differ from region to region but now there is a national level that you have to be trained to. This training is now assessed on a national level so all regions have to train their staff to the same standard.