On 24 July 2002, the Police Reform Act introduced the role of the police community support officer (PCSO).
PCSOs work in all forces in England and Wales, but unlike police officers, PCSOs can join a trade union, and nearly 70% of them are UNISON members!
Rooted in local areas, PCSOs provide a vital police presence. They deter anti-social behaviour, provide reassurance, gather intelligence and work with businesses, schools, and statutory partners to keep communities safe. The PCSO role attracted the highest proportion ever of Black, Asian and minority ethnic new joiners to policing.
Government must commit to the PCSO workforce
Commenting on the 20th anniversary, UNISON national officer for police and justice Ben Priestley says: “This is a time to reflect on what communities want from police forces going forward.
“At their peak in 2009 there were 16,814 PCSOs, but today that number has fallen to 9,284 – a decline of 46%. One force, Norfolk, has abolished the role in its entirety.
“So, this anniversary, UNISON is calling on the UK government, MPs, chief constables, police and crime commissioners and elected mayors, to commit to support the PCSO workforce for the next 20 years – with the additional funding needed to rebuild PCSO numbers in England.”
Nad Ikram (above) is fast approaching his 20th anniversary as a PCSO with Leicestershire Police. He remembers the sense of potential in his new job.
“It was a brand-new role and so there was a lot of curiosity. There was a lot of media attention too, because David Blunkett, who was the home secretary responsible for creating the Police Reform Act, said we needed more visible policing on the streets, like the beat bobby of the old days, the Dixons of Dock Green.
“At that time, we had a PCSO/traffic warden manager. And he said, ‘It’s a new role, we want you to develop it’. For us, it was a massive blank canvas. It was an opportunity to say, ‘OK, let’s start shaping the future’.”
Carl Barton, who has been a PCSO in Daventry since 2003, had a similar experience when he first joined.
“The big challenge to start with was that there really wasn’t any structure around the role. Police officers and the control room didn’t know what to do with us, the public were unsure what we were there for,” says Carl. “Gradually we were able to define our roles.”
Tracey Burnett has been a Lincolnshire PCSO for 17 years and says her role has evolved due to the recognition of the role in wider policing.
“We now do lots more admin and have greater responsibilities compared to the early days. We are left to plan our own patrols to target anti-social behaviour. We have more powers that can be used if necessary including the issuing of fixed penalty notices.”
Under-resourced
With more responsibility comes a greater pressure on time and resources. Increasing expectations combined with falling staff numbers – both in PCSOs and police officers – is leaving some communities under served.
For Carl, and other PCSOs, a ‘normal day’ involves high visibility patrols around their communities, liaising with other agencies, Housing and District Councils as well as school teachers.
“Communicating with the public is my main priority as I need to know what is happening within the community and to gather intelligence,” says Carl. “I still do all that but I tend to get a lot of neighbour disputes which can be time consuming.”
Tracey’s daily to-do list includes supporting victims of crime, helping to direct traffic after accidents, and patrolling around the town centre monitoring a store security radios. “Every day is different and sometimes challenging,” says Tracey.
Nevertheless, the commitment of PCSOs like Nad, Carl and Tracey is testimony to the continued need for PCSOs, especially where they are most effective – in the community.
Working with the community
Though their backgrounds are very different, what connects Nad, Carl, and Tracey and probably all PCSOs, has been the keen desire to work with people, in the community.
“For me, it was really important that we do embed within our communities,” says Nad. “I’ve been in my area now for 19 years. It’s allowed people to get to know me, personally. And that is really important, because when you get to know people on a long-term basis, it creates confidence, it creates trust, and it’s much easier to have the difficult conversations.”
The impact of PSCO cuts
Despite their success, PCSO numbers in England have been cut by 45% since 2010. In March 2010 there were 16,918 PCSOs on the beat. By March 2021 this number had fallen to 9,284. That’s 7,634 fewer PCSOs now than 12 years ago.
You can check what is happening with PCSO numbers in your local force by looking at the Home Office Police Workforce statistics which we have reproduced in the resources section below. This workforce data shows that in the year between March 2020 and March 2021 (the latest year for which data is available) 21 forces had cut their PCSO numbers. Data for March 2022 will be published at the end of July 2022 and will be updated here in due course.
Without new PCSOs in England, neighbourhood policing simply won’t recover from the austerity cuts. UNISON is calling for funding (ringfenced if necessary) for police forces in England to recruit 7,600 new PCSOs to replace those cut since 2010.
READ MORE ABOUT OUR PCSO CAMPAIGN
The following resources support our campaign to rebuild PCSO numbers in England:
Happy 20th Anniversary PCSOs greeting card:
Celebrating 20 Years of Police Community Support Officers commemorative booklet:
English version
Home Office Police Workforce Data:
Police community support officers by police force area, English regions and Wales