Police Community Support Officer

Surrey Police; Crowborough; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully-funded professionalqualification

Pension and benefits

Flexible working opportunities

Job summary

Surrey Police is seeking a dedicated PCSO apprentice to serve communities across Sussex and Surrey. You will perform high-visibility patrols, gather intelligence, and build trust with residents while training for a Level 4 Diploma in Community Policing Practice.

The role includes rotating shifts (8:00am–midnight, Mon–Sun) and a starting salary of £28,914 plus an unsocial hours allowance of about £7,100 per year (pro rata). Progression to a permanent contract is possible.

Qualifications

• Have lived in the UK for three continuous years immediately prior to application.
• Have leave to enter or leave to remain and work in the UK for an indefinite period.
• Meet the apprenticeship English and Maths eligibility requirements - Candidates aged 19 and over are not required to hold GCSE English or Maths (or equivalent) before applying.
• Have a full UK manual driving licence (by the time of appointment).
• Not be a current or previous member of a proscribed terrorist organisation or group.
• Not have tattoos which could cause offence.
• Not have six penalty points or more.
• Not have served a prison sentence.

Responsibilities

• Going on highly visible foot patrols.
• Reassuring the public after minor crimes or anti-social behaviour.
• Building relationships with community, religious and business leaders.
• Working with young people and local schools.
• Making house visits to gather intelligence.
• Collecting CCTV evidence.
• Carrying out missing person enquiries.
• Providing crime prevention and personal safety advice.
• Offering support at large public gatherings, such as sports events and public demonstrations.

Skills

Communication skills

Active listening

Calm under pressure

Compassionate

Education

Level 4 Diploma in Community Policing Practice

Job description

Our PCSOs play a vital part in keeping Sussex safe. Being a PCSO offers a challenging, yet incredibly rewarding career. Working alongside our policing prevention teams to prevent and tackle local issues; you will be out and about on the streets of Sussex, building relationships within the community and winning the trust of the public. You will encounter a range of situations from dealing with anti-social behaviour, taking statements from victims of crimes, providing reassurance and helping resolve community challenges. As a PCSO you are the face of local policing for the community, ensuring we meet our policing priorities. There are a range of duties/responsibilities some are listed below:

• Going on highly visible foot patrols.
• Reassuring the public after minor crimes or anti-social behaviour.
• Building relationships with community, religious and business leaders.
• Working with young people and local schools.
• Making house visits to gather intelligence.
• Collecting CCTV evidence.
• Carrying out missing person enquiries.
• Protecting crime scenes until police officers arrive.
• Providing crime prevention and personal safety advice.
• Offering support at large public gatherings, such as sports events and public demonstrations., As a PCSO, you will work shifts. You will have a rotating shift pattern covering the full week Monday to Sunday between the hours of 8:00am and midnight, so you will need to be prepared to work weekends and Bank Holidays. The standard shift pattern is attached below., The role will be on an initial fixed term contract however on successful completion of the Apprenticeship you will transition to a permanent contract.

Diversity Statement

We are only as good as our people. It's important that our officers and staff can be themselves in the workplace and we know that as an organisation we'll grow from the variety of thinking, approach, and the skills that diversity brings; all of which help us to deliver a better policing service. We strive to ensure how we deliver our services, provide information and how we recruit is open and accessible to all. We have multiple staff support groups who help to improve our understanding of minority issues and ensure they are reflected in our work. We are proud members of Disability Confident, hold Race Equality Matters Trailblazer status, are a signatory of the Race at Work Charter and are aligned with the Armed Forces Covenant and the HeForShe movement. We are committed to being an anti-racist police service. We promise to challenge injustice, ensure fairness and to uphold anti-racist principles in both our organisation and our communities. For more information, you can read our full anti-racism statement here.

As the key link with communities across Sussex, our PCSOs play a critical and visible role in helping keep our communities safe, identifying and protecting the most vulnerable and preventing harm. You will require excellent communication skills, a good listener, calm, confident and compassionate. Above all, you'll simply care about the community and want to do what you can to keep it safe. The role of a PCSO can be challenging, but also incredibly rewarding.

By successfully completing the recruitment process, you will join Sussex Police as a PCSO through our new 12‑month apprenticeship programme. This will give you the best possible training and, upon successful completion, you will achieve a Level 4 Diploma in Community Policing Practice - equivalent to a Higher National Certificate (HNC), foundation degree or the first year of an undergraduate degree.

• Have lived in the UK for three continuous years immediately prior to application.
• Have leave to enter or leave to remain and work in the UK for an indefinite period.
• Meet the apprenticeship English and Maths eligibility requirements - Candidates aged 19 and over are not required to hold GCSE English or Maths (or equivalent) before applying. Candidates aged 16-18 may be required to complete Functional Skills as part of the apprenticeship if they do not already hold the required qualifications.
• Have a full UK manual driving licence (by the time of appointment).
• Not be a current or previous member of a proscribed terrorist organisation or group.
• Not have tattoos which could cause offence.
• Not have six penalty points or more.
• Not have served a prison sentence.

In return, we offer you a good starting salary, great training experiences, opportunities for progression, and to achieve a professional qualification - Level 4 Diploma in Community Policing Practice - with the pride and personal reward that comes from helping others. You will be based at one of the following stations :-

• Hammonds Drive, Eastbourne
• Lewes
• Crowborough
• Battle
• Hailsham
• Hastings

Chief Constables' Message

We really welcome your interest in joining our Police Force. It is a privilege to lead the teams in Surrey Police and Sussex Police who continuously work selflessly and tirelessly in order to keep people in our counties safe. We are looking for talented and inspirational people who put the needs of the public at the heart of everything that they do and who want to make a difference. If you feel you are that person then we want to hear from you.

• Starting salary of £28,914, plus unsocial hours shift allowance of approximately £7,100 per year (pro rata).
• Fully-funded professional qualification - Level 4 Diploma in Community Policing Practice.
• 177.6 hours per year annual leave, rising to 214.6 hours per year depending on your length of service. (A standard full time PCSO working day is 8.25 hour, this equates to approximately 21 days per year). In addition, you will receive 8 Public Holiday days per year.
• A competitive benefits package including pension, flexible benefits, employee assistance programme for advice and counselling, access to discounts / savings / cash-back rewards.
• A progressive approach to flexible working, enhanced maternity and paternity leave and potential for a career break (after two years' service).
• Opportunities to join various support networks, staff associations and sports clubs.

Following submission of your application you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your application attached. Occasionally emails from this address can fall into spam/junk folders so please ensure this is checked regularly. You may wish to consider adding [e-mail] to your address/contact list to ensure you receive all communications.

This post is being advertised in parallel with Force redeployment processes. Any redeployees who are identified will be given preference. This may result in the post being withdrawn at any point during the recruitment process. Please note that not all jobs are available for internal candidates across both Forces, the current agreed recruitment principles are;

• vacancies in collaborated units are available to all officers and staff across both Forces
• vacancies in non-collaborated units are only available to officers and staff within the Force with the vacancy unless it is advertised externally
• if the vacancy is advertised externally and an officer or member of staff from the other Force is successful it will result in a transfer of employment