Police Community Support Officer

General

A Police Community Support Officer is a member of the extended police family, employed by a chief constable, who performs community policing functions. PCSOs are not constables and do not have the full powers of a constable. Their powers are set out in Schedule 4 of the Police Reform Act 2002 and are designated by the chief constable from a list of available powers. Core PCSO powers typically include detaining a person for up to 30 minutes pending arrival of a constable and issuing fixed penalty notices.

In practice

PCSOs play a visible uniformed role in communities but cannot carry out arrests, conduct searches under PACE, or process prisoners at the custody suite. Where a PCSO detains a person, they must summon a constable and may not hold the person for longer than 30 minutes without the person's agreement. PCSOs wear a different uniform to constables.

Related terms

Fixed penalty notice
Arrest
PACE

Last updated 24 September 2026