Met police firearms

[Fedster + 1,307]

Position creates career path for PCSOs to progress into investigation roles

PCSIs Craig Evans and Cheryl Belfield

 

Dorset Police has introduced Police Community Support Investigators (PCSIs).

The force says the new role will mean it can better meet the demands of modern policing.

The 31 PCSIs will be based out of stations to establish face-to-face contact with victims of crime after an appointment has been scheduled.

Feedback revealed the public believed the force did not always respond to crimes in a timely and efficient manner when it had been established there is no immediate risk or danger. The force believes the introduction of PCSIs will solve the problem.

On top of the initial nine weeks training for their former role as a PCSO, the new PCSIs have been through a further eight-week intensive training programme involving four weeks of classroom learning and four weeks of on-the-job training, shadowing police constables.

The investigators will attend appointments at a pre-agreed time and location to deal with incidents where there is lower threat, harm and risk, such as assaults, criminal damage, shed break-ins, vehicle crime and harassment.

They will record crimes, carry out the initial investigation, such as identification of CCTV and witness opportunities, take statements and provide reassurance and crime prevention advice to the victim.

The project will also give further support to teams dealing with cyber-crime, child sexual exploitation and sex offences, as well as other areas that generate significant demand.

Dorset Assistant Chief Constable Julie Fielding said: “As has been seen in other parts of the country, policing numbers have reduced over the last five years and we must constantly evolve how we operate to ensure we best meet the needs of Dorset residents.

“This is an exciting time for our Police Community Support Investigators who have been recruited from our existing Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). They bring with them a range of skills and years of policing experience which will be very useful in their new roles. 

“We have been able to invest in increasing resources in areas where we experience significant demand by retraining and redeploying PCSOs from our neighbourhood policing teams, whilst still enabling them to carry out some of their more traditional responsibilities wherever and whenever it is appropriate in a more flexible role."

The introduction of the new role also creates a career path for PCSOs to progress into investigation roles.

PCSI Cheryl Belfield, of Dorset Police, said: “I’ve been a police community support officer for eight years, but having the opportunity to progress my career within policing was an opportunity I jumped at. We all join policing to help people and in this new role, I can really put my problem solving and investigative skills into practice and have an even greater impact on supporting victims and vulnerable members of our community.”

Police and Crime Commissioner, Martyn Underhill said: “Now more than ever, we need to be making best use of available resources. Giving PCSOs an opportunity to diversify their careers is important if we are to retain skilled individuals with a solid understanding of local needs. But beyond this, with PCSIs taking on the initial investigatory work in relation to low threat crimes, our PCSOs will be better able to fulfil their core community engagement role while police officers will have more time to tackle high risk crimes in Dorset.”

View On Police Oracle

[Beaker 817]

So basically giving the diary car to PCSOs? They also doing Surgery appointments?

[SD + 688]

Thought they were supposed to be the ‘eyes and ears’ of the police. Not sat in a station taking neg line crimes.p

[Hyphen + 693]

I guess it’s a good idea, it’s better than losing a few cops per shift to do diary cars who could be out responding to jobs or investigating crimes.

[Chaos + 151]

Do they have the power to seize evidence? Or is it just taking statements and crimeing jobs?

[Beaker 817]

Do they have the power to seize evidence? Or is it just taking statements and crimeing jobs?

They can have the same powers as a constable when legally on premises. Chief Constables have a list of powers they can designate to PCSOs, and that is one of them. I read up a while back when someone on here was mentioning how many extra powers BTP give theirs, and it seems Territorial forces could do the same if they really wanted to.

[MerseyLLB 8,426]

This should be happening already.

There's no reason why as part of a PCSOs duties they shouldn't be dealing with low level crime investigation anyway.

From what has been suggested here they are going to use their PCSOs how BTP did 10 years ago.

It's unacceptable that in some forces PCSOs were stagnated as a 20k+ police asset who walks around for feel good factor and to stand on crime scenes.

Having been one I've always felt it was a silly experiment that has gone on too long anyway. They've often been said to be needed as the Bobby on the beat disappeared. 

Then arguments over how PCSOs could best plug that gap. With often raised arguments that by having powers PCSOs would gather less intelligence.

Bearing in mind PCSOs don't conduct source tasking most of their Intel is from being out and talking to people. 

I don't know about anyone else but if I find myself on foot people stop me and tell me all sorts. When I go to people's houses they tell me all sorts. They have never said 'if you could send PCSO Jones round as I don't feel comfortable talking to you.'

In fact sometimes people will reflect that they are somehow being fobbed off by having PCSOs allocated to their problem. And as a taxpayer I would tend to agree. 

I used to think BTP were great in the way they used PCSOs as it maximised this duties and deployment...but now I just wonder why bother creating jobs on 26k for people to be able to deal with most things they come across as opposed to employing slightly fewer on full PC wage who can deal with everything?!?

[MindTheGap 1,275]

4 hours ago, MerseyLLB said:

I used to think BTP were great in the way they used PCSOs as it maximised this duties and deployment...but now I just wonder why bother creating jobs on 26k for people to be able to deal with most things they come across as opposed to employing slightly fewer on full PC wage who can deal with everything?!?

I think BTP think of the long term investment. The way the PCSO role was and still is used as almost an apprenticeship on a decent wage becoming a PC tends to mean that they get cops who want to be cops. Also saves on initial training costs 

I wouldn’t be without the PCSOs on my team, because they don’t have a massive caseload and are there to support me with my investigations. 

 

Having had an involvement in recruit development you find ex police anything last longer than fresh in the job people in the main. 

[Radman + 2,163]

So they're using PCSOs as we use PCSOs in BTP.

Why the fancy title? 

EVERY PCSO should be doing this for £24k a year, it's frankly a national scandal that The HO waste so much money on the role... Obtaining crime reports and a statement of loss is well within their remit.

Edited April 20, 2018 by Radman

[SOP + 21]

2 hours ago, Radman said:

So they're using PCSOs as we use PCSOs in BTP.

Why the fancy title? 

EVERY PCSO should be doing this for £24k a year, it's frankly a national scandal that The HO waste so much money on the role... Obtaining crime reports and a statement of loss is well within their remit.

 

It's up the the chief officers of the relevant force of how they deploy PCSOs. I for one am happy to see PCSOs out and about engaging with the public near me rather than crewing a diary car.  

[Hyphen + 693]

1 hour ago, SOP said:

 

It's up the the chief officers of the relevant force of how they deploy PCSOs. I for one am happy to see PCSOs out and about engaging with the public near me rather than crewing a diary car.  

I don’t disagree in the sense that they do of course build relationships with people and gather intel.

However, you think that it’s more appropriate for fully warranted PCs potentially on top whack going to appointments for minor crime/incidents rather than a CSO?

We have to face facts, losing 3 on my shift to diary cars can make a difference, I don’t see why we should continue the way we are to keep some CSOs bumbling around on foot when most importantly we struggle to resource emergency calls. 

 

[Growley + 2,436]

 
It's up the the chief officers of the relevant force of how they deploy PCSOs. I for one am happy to see PCSOs out and about engaging with the public near me rather than crewing a diary car.  

I'd be fine if the role being all about engagement... If only it were paid about half of what it actually is.

For the amount of money the role is paid, we should be expecting all of these 'new' responsibilities as a minimum. I have colleagues who went from PCSO to PC and took a significant pay cut, only to have their responsibilities increased several fold. That's just not on.

[Radman + 2,163]

4 hours ago, SOP said:

 

It's up the the chief officers of the relevant force of how they deploy PCSOs. I for one am happy to see PCSOs out and about engaging with the public near me rather than crewing a diary car.  

The role is a very well paid one which in some forces is literally broken down to a walking high vis jacket. Our PCSOs do foot patrol but they also obtain details to crime incidents and take statements from witnesses and victims - they also have the powers to deal with most matters they encounter without having to shout me or another PC up to assist.

We recently had a transferee from a small HO constabulary come over to us, he was shocked at things our PCSOs on shift got up to, was surprised to see an CSO not only intervene in a disturbance on the station but handcuff the offender whilst we got to him to render assistance - he had never seen that done before and was impressed. The two PCSOs we have at our station are very good and are treated just like another PC - I wish BTP would take the next leap and give them PPE capabilities as that's the only thing which really inhibits them.

BTP by far utilises PCSOs to their fullest extent, we get our monies worth out of them and many go on to be PCs, myself being one of them (I did 18months) we treat it more as an apprentership position.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Radman

[MerseyLLB 8,426]

5 hours ago, SOP said:

 

It's up the the chief officers of the relevant force of how they deploy PCSOs. I for one am happy to see PCSOs out and about engaging with the public near me rather than crewing a diary car.  

I'd hazard the public reporting crimes would rather a PCSO attended to take their crime report than put on a yellow jacket handing out pens. 

Instead they wait up to a week to see a PC who apologises meekly for the delay and explains that a crime is being recorded and filed at source.

In some forces if you replaced the PCSOs with extra cops the PCs workloads wouldn't be as atrocious.

If austerity is the name of the game how has the PCSO role as it stands survived? It's terrible value for money and can mean most noteworthy incidents are double attended... PCSOs attend and then request a PC attend also. It's great in some forces that PCSOs detail offenders...but they detain them pending the arrival of a police officer. It's great that they gather intelligence but they gather intelligence and put it into the system and then a PC acts on it some time down the line. They provide crime prevention advice pending a PC investigating the substantive crime.

A good quality home beat PC is a blend of PCSO, response copper and detective. 

[IrateShrike + 1,847]

On 19/04/2018 at 20:47, SD said:

Thought they were supposed to be the ‘eyes and ears’ of the police. Not sat in a station taking neg line crimes.p

Why shouldn't police officers be the 'eyes and ears' of the police?

Edit - just re-read your post, I think you actually agree with me.  If PCSOs are just doing what PCs do, then why not have PCs instead... many more powers, much more training, less employment rights etc for what is realistically a trivial increase in cost to the job.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Lone Wolf