Police Community Support Officers planned for NI

The Police Service is planning to introduce Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) to Northern Ireland to support front-line community policing.

PCSOs are civilian employees trained to work alongside and support their police colleagues.

The Northern Ireland Office will shortly be launching a public consultation on wider policing issues which will also include the introduction of PCSO’s, an initiative which is being endorsed by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

In order to inform the debate and the police planning process, PCSOs from Merseyside and Lancashire Constabularies are visiting Northern Ireland over the next two days to share their experiences and knowledge ahead of the plan to introduce the scheme here.

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton is leading on the PCSO project. He said: “As their very title suggests, PCSOs are about supporting the police in dealing more successfully with local community issues and providing greater public reassurance. Their introduction is not about creating different levels of policing.

“It is envisaged that PCSOs will become part of our Neighbourhood Policing Teams across Northern Ireland. They will assist in the delivery of a first-class service to the people of Northern Ireland, thereby helping to make communities safer and reducing fear of crime. They are most definitely not viewed as a replacement for full time or part time reserve officers or for police officers part time.”

He continued: “PCSOs will work to address many of the issues that affect the quality of life - and while the powers given to PCSOs will be limited, they will enable them to deal effectively with a number of community issues.

“All PSCOs will be vetted to the same standard as police officers. They will be managed by and fully accountable to District Commanders. They will work closely with neighbourhood sergeants and constables who will determine their day-to-day deployment.”

Mr Leighton concluded: “The visit by the Merseyside and Lancashire PCSOs to Northern Ireland over the next two days will give us a valuable insight into how they are integrated into the police environment and the benefit they bring to local communities. We aim to tap into their experience and knowledge and explore the value they bring at a local level.”

Policing Board member Pauline McCabe commented: “The message the Board and DPPs are clearly getting is that everyone in our community wants to see more visible policing and a focus on tackling such issues as anti-social behaviour, under age drinking, damage to property and vandalism.

“The Board has worked closely with PSNI and the NIO on the development of the PCSO initiative and a number of Board Members have been on patrol with PCSOs in various services in England. Having seen for ourselves the role that they can play, we believe that this new addition to the policing family will help to make a real difference on the ground in Northern Ireland and will help to build the community confidence and engagement that is at the heart of policing in the community”.

Police Community Support Officers will be visiting Coleraine, Cookstown, Armagh and Antrim during their time in the province and will meet with local District Policing Partnerships, local council representatives and local police representatives.

(EF)