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Police Community Support Officer

Make a REAL difference to communities…

Salary £20,355 rising to £23,355 (after successfully completing a 12 month probationary period)

As a Police Community Support Officer you’ll work closely with communities and businesses to promote community safety. You will also identify and support vulnerable people through local engagement and working with partner agencies.

You'll be responsible for patrolling a specific neighbourhood, supporting the community by;

giving reassurance
using your powers to deal with antisocial behaviour, alcohol and licensing offences and traffic management
working with them on longer term projects to tackle local problems.

Working closely with regular officers, special constables and partner agencies you’ll actively seek information and intelligence around criminal activity, disorderly or anti-social behaviour.

Your 37 hour working week will include variable shifts that could span any time between 7am and 11pm, any day of the week.

About you

As a Police Community Support Officer you will be passionate about helping communities. You’ll have excellent communication and interpersonal skills when supporting members of the public. You will also be good at problem solving with the ability to develop an innovative approach to solving problems.

Please note: when appointed, where you're posted within the county will depend on our operational requirements.

Specialist roles

After successfully, completing your probationary period* you may be given the opportunity to specialise in one of the following roles:

Youth Engagement Officer

As a Youth Engagement Officer you’ll support children and young people both inside and outside schools; to build trust, confidence and building positive relationships.

You’ll be responsible for identifying vulnerability and risk amongst children and young people through intelligence gathering, information sharing, positive relationship building and multi-agency working.

View role requirement
Vulnerable Adult Intervention Officer
Domestic Abuse Support Officer
Missing and Child Exploitation PCSO

*Probation period for entry level PCSOs is 1 year.

Am I eligible to apply?

Personal (all must apply)
- I'm an EEA or Swiss National*.
- I've lived in the UK continously for the last 3 years**.
- I'm at 18 years old (you can apply when you're 17 as long as you're 3 months or less away from your 18th birthday).
- I hold a full UK manual driving licence (with 6 points or less on it).
- I don't have any tattoos or piercings which cause offence, are excessive or deemed unprofessional.
- I'm not registered bankrupt or subject to CCJs or IVAs (IVAs will be considered on a case by case basis).
- Any previous criminal convictions or cautions (including those spent), fixed penalty notices, traffic offences or any involvement with the police must be declared and they may affect your application.
*Commonwealth citizens and foreign nationals can also apply if you have leave to enter or remain in the UK indefinitely and you're free of restrictions.
**Not applicable if you've been serving abroad with the military.
Education
Health and fitness

PCSOs may encounter stressful situations, trauma, physical confrontation and work long hours on a variable shift pattern, covering 7am to 11pm.

They need to be resilient enough to cope with the demands and pressures of the role so applicants should be in good health mentally and physically.

You will undergo a medical examination to ensure you meet the health standards required.

Take a look at the medical standards for more information about some of the conditions that can exclude you and those that are acceptable.
Fitness test
You will need to complete an endurance fitness test by running a 15m track in time with bleeps which get increasingly faster.

We are looking for no more than the minimum standard to enable you to work effectively as a PCSO.

You'll be given help to improve your fitness and if you prepare yourself properly, there is no reason for you to fail.

If you're eligible to apply take a look at our recruitment process to find out your next steps.

Training

What we offer

As a new PCSO you'll join at entry level and will be comprehensively supported during your training and development in the first year.

This will include the completion of a development portfolio.

The first part of your training involves an 8 week course at Kent Police College in Maidstone, followed by local training at the police station where you'll be based.

Before you go out on patrol on your own you'll spend some time with officers who'll also support you, offering advice and guidance during the transition between the classroom and the workplace.

Before you apply

Top tips

Sometimes we use competency-based application and assessment processes. If you haven't used these methods before, refer to this page to find out more.

Police benefits and lifestyle

Find out about what you can expect when you become a Kent Police employee, including annual leave, pension, discounts and gym membership

Update: Recruitment for the Police Community Support Officer role is now closed.

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