PCSO Lindsay recommends rewarding job
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Former primary school teaching assistant Lindsay changed careers and joined us as a Police Community Support Officer four years ago and has never looked back!
We are recruiting PCSOs. If you’d like a job that’s rewarding and satisfying why not apply now?
Lindsay explains more here:
Why did you want to join the police? I wanted to join the police because I enjoy helping people and I wanted a job which I knew would challenge me and help me grow with confidence. It also helped having my brother already in the police force as a PC which meant I could get an insight into what he got up to on a daily basis and this inspired me to join. Before I joined Hertfordshire Constabulary, I worked as a teaching assistant at a primary school.
What does your role entail? My role as a PCSO entails a lot of community engagement. On a day-to-day basis, I will be out on foot patrol walking around the local area and patrolling the known anti-social behaviour hotspots to show a high visibility presence. If there are any crimes on my workload, I will make sure enquiries are completed if they’re needed and this can range from talking to victims of the crime to update them with where the investigation is at or collecting CCTV from a shop if it is a shoplifting crime or conducting house to house enquiries if there has been a burglary or suspicious activity in the area. Once a week, I attend a primary school with a colleague to present our Mini Police programme to Year 5 students who we work with over 8 weeks to educate them on different subjects and build the rapport between young people and the police. Whilst I am on duty, if there are any calls which come into the police that fit the PCSO remit, I will be assigned to attend and deal with the job. This can be any low level crimes, such as anti-social behaviour happening in an area at the time or neighbour disputes to name a few. As I have a PC assigned to my shift pattern, I am also lucky enough to be able to work alongside them and support them with any jobs they attend as long as it is suitable for a PCSO.
Have you worked in a different area of the constabulary? I worked on the Children and Young Person’s Team within Hertfordshire Constabulary for a year and a half, and I was based at Watford Police Station whilst being on the team.
What’s one of the most challenging incidents you have been involved in? I attended to a young girl wanting to jump off a bridge over the A41 bypass. This was the first type of incident that I had been to like this, so I did feel slightly nervous but luckily, I wasn’t on my own. The young girl would not really engage with my colleague so when I heard a request over the radio for a female officer to attend, I thought this was my chance to step forward and try to help. As minutes passed, the young girl was becoming more relaxed with me and started to engage but she was still refusing to step away from the barrier. The biggest challenge I had to face was to keep her talking to me whilst trying to get her into our police car for her own safety, all whilst trying to remain calm and not show my nerves as I knew this would unsettle the young girl even more. Eventually, with the help of my colleague, we managed to get her into the police car where she was then safe. She continued to talk to me whilst we were sitting in the police car, opening up even more about how unhappy she was feeling and how she was struggling with a few things at school and at home. It was rewarding to know I had managed to build a good rapport with the young girl for her to feel like she could really open up to me as I could then pass this information on to my colleagues to make sure she would receive the help she wanted.
What makes you want to come to work each day? The best thing about working for a blue light service I would say is when you are recognised by members of the public for the service you provide. Yes, it is my job but knowing you have helped someone no matter what the job may be, is a different feeling altogether. This also makes me want to come to work each day because if I know I can help just one person that day and to make their day, then I know I’ve done a good job. Also, having a very supportive team around you definitely helps which I am lucky enough to have on the Berkhamsted and Tring Safer Neighbourhood Team.
Why would you recommend being a PCSO? It is a very rewarding job and every day is different. You get to work with young children by visiting primary schools, attend secondary schools to present school talks or attend career fayres, visit residential homes for older people to have coffee with them whilst offering crime prevention advice to help keep them safe whilst out and about or at home, attend community events in your local area and so much more.
💰 Salaries start at £24,660 and go up to £30,951
You can work part-time or flexible hours.
✔️ PCSOs improve the quality of life for residents and make their area safer by proactively tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.
⏰ There’s shift work, some weekends and evenings to 11pm.
📅 Initial training takes seven weeks.