They were introduced in 2003 as part of the Government’s Police Reform Act. Since summer 2007 there are now 252 of them working across the county. This includes 38 PCSOs working directly with schools.

Their main duties are:

• carrying out high visibility patrols to prevent public disorder and nuisance;
• responding to requests for assistance from the public to deal with anti-social behaviour.

They also gather information from the communities they serve and feed this into the Constabulary’s intelligence systems, which helps tackle many more crime and disorder issues.

PCSOs are paid for by a combination of Government funds, Constabulary resources and local councils.

How are PCSOs equipped and uniformed?

PCSOs wear a uniform with a blue band around their hats, blue shirts, blue ties, blue epaulettes on their shoulders and high-visibility vests or jackets.

They carry police radios which they use to report information or call for police assistance when required.

They do not carry batons, sprays or handcuffs.

Why not just employ more police officers?

There is a limit to the number of officers that police forces are allowed to employ, so recruiting PCSOs is an excellent way to increase the number of uniformed staff who can make the streets of Hertfordshire safer.

What powers do PCSOs have?

The Chief Constable of Hertfordshire has designated the following powers to Police Community Support Officers:

• Confiscation of alcohol from any person in a designated place;
• Confiscation of alcohol from young people aged under 18;
• Confiscation of alcohol from young people aged under 16;
• Removal of abandoned vehicles;
• Seizure of vehicles used to cause alarm, distress or annoyance after a warning has been given;
• Enter a property to save life or limb or to prevent serious damage;
• Carry out road checks under section 4 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984;
• Place traffic signs;
• Stop vehicles for the purpose of testing;
• Stop cycles for riding on a footpath;
• Regulate traffic for the purpose of escorting abnormal loads;
• Enforce cordon areas under section 36 of the Terrorism Act 2000;
• Stop and search of vehicles and items carried by persons in authorization areas in the company of a constable (sections 44 and 45 of the Terrorism Act 2000);
• Enforce local by-laws;
• Deal with begging under section 3 & 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824
• Direct traffic for offences other than escorting an abnormal load;
• Remove children in contravention of curfew notices to their place of residence under sub-sections 15(1), (2) and (3) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998;
• Disperse groups and remove persons under 16 to their place of residence under Section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003;
• Power to enforce certain licensing offences;
• Limited power to enter licensed premises;
• Power to search for alcohol and tobacco;
• Power to seize drugs and require name and address for those in possession;
• Power to photograph persons away from a police station.

PCSOs also have the power to require a person’s name and address in the following circumstances:

• Reasonable belief of a relevant offence
• Relevant fixed penalty notice
• Offence involving injury, alarm or distress
• Offence involving loss or damage to property
• Road traffic offence whereby a pedestrian fails to follow the directions of a PCSO
• Reasonable belief that a person is acting in an anti-social manner

Power to detain

A PCSO has the power to detain a person for a period of up to 30 minutes, pending the arrival of a police constable, or require the person to accompany them to a police station if the following offence is committed:

Failure to comply with a request to give name and address or gives a false or inaccurate name and address

A PCSO may also issue local authority fixed penalty notices for:

• Dog fouling
• Litter
• Graffiti/flyposting

And Hertfordshire Constabulary fixed penalty notices for:

• Cycling on a footpath
• Disorder

Find out if the area where you live has a PCSO