A police community support officer (PCSO) (Welsh: swyddog cymorth cymunedol yr heddlu, SCCH), or community support officer (CSO) (Welsh: swyddog cymorth cymunedol, SCC) is a civilian member of police staff employed as a uniformed non-warranted officer by one of the forty-three territorial police forces in England and Wales or the British Transport Police, which is the only special police force to employ PCSOs. PCSOs were introduced in September 2002 and first recruited by the Metropolitan Police under the Police Reform Act 2002 which was given Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 July 2002.
Proposals for PCSOs in Northern Ireland were prevented by a budget shortfall in the Police Service of Northern Ireland. as well as fears that the introduction of uniformed and unarmed PCSOs in Northern Ireland (PSNI constables all carry firearms) would mean they would potentially then become a “legitimate target” in the eyes of the IRA who have attacked other civilians working for the police in Northern Ireland in the past .
Scotland does not have PCSOs. In Scotland, PCSO stands for police custody and security officers, also known by the slang nickname "turnkeys", who play a rather different role to that performed by PCSOs in England and Wales.
There are currently 15,820 PCSOs in England and Wales. PCSO numbers have, like those of police constables, been falling in recent years due to economic austerity. At their peak in 2009, 16,814 PCSOs were employed. PCSOs represent 6.8% of total police employees in England and Wales. The Metropolitan Police has the highest contingent of PCSOs, accounting for 25.3% of PCSOs nationally. The force with the second largest contingent is Greater Manchester Police (GMP) with 837 PCSOs, 5.3% of the total. The force with the least amount of PCSOs is the City of London Police with 48 PCSOs.
Pay for PCSOs varies from force to force from between around £16,000 to around £27,000 per year.
Read more about Police Community Support Officer: Role, Powers, Use of Force, Relevant Offences, Vehicles, Underage PCSOs, Deaths of PCSOs On Duty, Union and Police Federation Membership Status For PCSOs, Special Constable Membership Status For PCSOs, Police Federation Stance On PCSOs, Future, Similar Programmes in Other Countries, PCSOs in Fiction
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)