Community Safety Accreditation Scheme - Powers

Powers

A Chief Constable may grant some or all of the following powers to an Accredited Person as part of a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme:

• The power to:
  • require the name and address of a person who has committed a criminal offence that causes injury, alarm and distress to another person or damage or loss of another's property, or to whom a penalty notices has been issued;
  • require the name and address of a person acting in an anti-social manner;
  • require a person to stop drinking in a designated public place and confiscate and dispose of alcohol being consumed in a designated place;
  • confiscate alcohol from young people;
  • confiscate cigarettes and tobacco products from young people;
  • require the removal of abandoned vehicles;
  • stop cyclists if they are suspected of having committed the offence of riding on a footpath;
  • stop a vehicle for the purposes of an inspection;
  • control traffic for the purpose of escorting abnormal loads, for the purpose of conducting a traffic survey, and for other purposes
  • require the name and address of a driver or pedestrian who fails to follow appropriate directions;
  • photograph a person who has been given a penalty notice away from a police station.

• The power to issue a fixed penalty notice:
  • for riding a bicycle on footpath;
  • for dog fouling;
  • for littering;
  • for graffiti and fly posting;
  • to parents of truants.

• The power to issue a penalty notice for disorder for:
  • the sale of alcohol to person aged under 18;
  • buying or attempting to buy alcohol for consumption by a person aged under 18;
  • consumption of alcohol by a person aged under 18 or allowing such consumption;
  • delivery of alcohol to a person aged under 18 or allowing such delivery;
  • consumption of alcohol in a designated public space;
  • possession by a person aged under 18 of an adult firework;
  • possession of a some restricted fireworks;
  • breach of a fireworks curfew;
  • supply of excessively loud fireworks;
  • throwing fireworks in a thoroughfare;
  • wasting police time or giving a false report;
  • using the telephones in order to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;
  • making hoax calls to the fire services;
  • behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress;
  • trespassing on a railway;
  • throwing stones, etc. at trains or other things on railways.

The powers available to individuals accredited under a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme are less than those of a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO).

The Act also makes it a criminal offence to assault, resist or obstruct an Accredited Person in the execution of their duty, impersonate an Accredited Person, or for an Accredited Person to suggest that they have powers which exceed the powers they actually hold.