Role of Police Community Support Officer in the Metropolitan Police Service

Report: 7b
Date: 25 January 2007
By: Assistant Commissioner Territorial Policing on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report provides a summary of the Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) review completed by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), Safer Neighbourhoods Unit in 2006; a summary of the use of PCSOs within the Bexley workforce modernisation pilot project and the proposals for the use of demonstration sites for PCSOs. It also looks at the development of extended roles for PCSOs; the use of reasonable force; quality assurance of the PCSO role; terms and conditions of employment, including working patterns; training and the provision of recuperative duties.

A. Recommendation

That

1. the report be noted and the Authority continue to support the work being undertaken to fully integrate PCSOs into MPS core policing;
2. delegated authority be given to Commissioner, to exercise the MPA’s powers under section 92 of the Police Act 1996 (power to receive grants from local authorities) to take forward the cost sharing initiatives with local authorities, subject to the Chief Executive and Clerk approving model terms and conditions for grants to be received from local authorities, and for the Chief Executive and Clerk to enter into appropriate agreements recording the terms agreed for each grant; and
3. agreement is given to fund the minimum model of the IBO staffing with the income generated from the Safer Transport initiative, the cost sharing initiative and the transition of TOCU from traffic wardens to PCSOs.

B. Supporting information

1. In July 2006, the MPS employed 2350 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). By the end of April 2007, that number will have increased to 4562. In one year, the MPS will have almost doubled its PCSO workforce. This has been a challenge in terms of recruitment, training and workplace integration but is also a tremendous opportunity to enhance neighbourhood policing across the MPS.

Review of Police Community Support Officers in the Metropolitan Police Service

2. The MPS conducted a comprehensive review of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in 2006. The review was compiled using a number of sources: National research, including the Home Office, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO); an electronic consultation exercise, including consultative groups and advisory groups; interviews and focus groups with PCSOs, managers and other staff involved in PCSO deployment across various business groups. The review examined:

• Role and responsibilities
• Deployment
• Use of powers
• Performance management
• Training
• Professional standards
• Career pathways
• Pay and conditions

The review made a number of recommendations (referred to throughout this summary). The recommendations have been written into an action plan that is governed by the PCSO programme board and is reviewed bi-monthly.

Role and responsibilities

3. The employment of PCSOs in the MPS is in line with the national model: patrols promoting visibility, accessibility and familiarity, community intelligence and dealing with anti-social behaviour. Their fundamental role is to contribute to the policing of neighbourhoods, primarily through highly visible patrol with the purpose of reassuring the public, increasing orderliness in public places and being accessible to communities. PCSOs are therefore key to the delivery of the National Community Safety Plan 2006-2009 and the focus towards embedding a dedicated, visible, responsive and accountable neighbourhood policing team in every area by April 2008; a target achieved in the MPS by year-end 2006.

4. The MPS, along with ACPO, have an expectation that the PCSO role will develop to encompass a wider range of duties. However, it should always remain within the framework of neighbourhood policing, with an emphasis on engagement as opposed to enforcement; a distinction should be maintained between the role of a PCSO and that of a sworn police officer. The new roles for MPS PCSOs have been developed using this philosophy and will be addressed later in this report.

5. The MPS review identified that PCSOs felt confident in their role and understood that their primary objective was community engagement rather than enforcement. However, it also acknowledged a willingness by PCSOs to exceed their training in order to support their police officer colleagues at times of peak demand. The review also identified that a number of supervisors asked their PCSOs to perform beyond their role. This practice was attributed to a lack of knowledge and awareness rather then attempts to extend and subvert the role.

6. As a result of the review, an enhanced communication strategy and training practices have been developed to address this misperception and to reaffirm the PCSO role:

• A regular newsletter is produced by the Safer Neighbourhoods Unit.
• A letter was sent to all PCSOs and SMT leads reaffirming the PCSO role.
• The PCSO intranet site was re-launched with guidance on the PCSO role and powers.
• A pan-London and national recruitment campaign was implemented
• The ITV reality show ‘Beat Life on the Street’ was aired.
• Inspector and Sergeant promotion training now includes up-to-date input on the PCSO role.
• All new recruit constables will receive a lesson on PCSOs.

7. Full rollout of Safer Neighbourhoods means that more police officers now work alongside PCSOs in integrated, mixed teams. Feedback indicates that when constables work with PCSOs, any misunderstandings or cynicism is soon dispelled.

Deployment

8. The dynamic relationship between the PCSO role, their responsibilities, their designated powers, corporate risk assessments and their principles of deployment, all influence the level of OST (Officer Safety Training) and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) the MPS provide. The overarching principles of deployment that inform this process are:

• There is no expectation that PCSOs will engage in activities assessed as ‘high risk’.
• PCSOs should only be deployed in uniform.
• The decision made by a PCSO to withdraw, observe and report is a valid tactical option and will be supported by managers.
• There is no positive duty for PCSOs to intervene; they are police staff, not police officers.
• PCSOs actions will support the rights of individuals (proportionate, legal, accountable and necessary).
• The level of PPE and the provision of OST are under constant review.

9. PCSOs are issued with Metvests to reduce the risk of injury due to unexpected attack. They are not issued with handcuffs, batons or incapacitant spray. PCSOs receive two days of Officer Safety Training (OST) as part of their foundation course. The syllabus includes health and safety policy, positive affirmative action, the personal safety model, use of force, tactical communication, medical implications and self-defence. PCSOs also receive six hours of OST refresher training each year.

10. The MPS corporate risk assessment team was consulted in relation to all new powers selected for designation from Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA). The revised list of powers does not alter current risk assessments pertaining to PCSOs. However, it was stressed that MPS policy in relation to physical intervention and powers of detention must be adhered to for this to remain the case. Issues around the use of reasonable force and physical interventions are addressed later in this report.

Use of powers

11. When PCSOs were first introduced to the MPS they were trained and designated in all powers available within the Police Reform Act 2002. Research revealed that despite the comprehensive designation, powers were not exercised extensively. The issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) and Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) was low, however the recording of ‘stop and account’ (a non-designated power) was widespread, which suggests active engagement in community intelligence. It is believed that two key contributory factors applied:

• There were only a very limited number of PNDs and FPNs offences applicable to PCSOs; and
• A lack of confidence amongst officers to perform the enforcement role.

Both issues have been subsequently addressed by the new powers made available under the (SOCPA) and the rollout of comprehensively revised foundation and development training.

12. Since the PCSO review was published, the MPS has augmented existing PCSOs powers with complementary powers, made available in SOCPA. In considering which powers to introduce, Territorial Policing Command Team were guided by key principles that do not detract from the original role of PCSOs. Their powers should:

• Be non-coercive, non-confrontational, involve limited infringement of human rights, limited risk of harm and minimal investigation time.
• Support neighbourhood policing, i.e. locally identified concerns.
• Not detract from visibility, accessibility and familiarity, i.e. not involve too much writing and off the street abstractions.
• Maintain a clear distinction between sworn officers and PCSOs and a clear gap between enforcement and engagement.

13. New powers include:

• The power to direct traffic (previously available to Traffic PCSOs).
• The power to enforce byelaws.
• Power to issue penalty notices for graffiti.

14. The Police and Justice Act 2006 will enable the Home Secretary to impose a standard set of powers on all PCSOs, nationwide. The MPS and MPA wrote to the Home Office early in 2006 agreeing that standardisation would be helpful to the public but were concerned that the ‘proposed list draws the line too high’. In November 2006, following an exchange of correspondence, the Home Office produced a revised list of powers that takes into account MPS and MPA concerns.

Performance management

15. The review highlights the difficulties of evaluating the impact of PCSOs, as a single intervention, on crime and disorder across London. In the MPS, a reduction in recorded crime within an area of PCSO deployment cannot be singularly attributed to the presence of PCSOs. The MPS rolled out PCSOs in conjunction with the Safer Neighbourhoods Programme and the two have become inextricably linked when comparative crime analysis is conducted.

16. PCSO contribute, significantly, to the performance of Safer Neighbourhoods Teams in terms of visibility, intelligence gathering, community consultation and accountability, and problem solving policing. They are integral to the Enforcement, Prevention, Intelligence and Communication (EPIC) performance framework. Public Attitude Surveys (PAS) conducted across the MPS include four questions in relation to the presence of PCSOs and the impact they have in local communities. PAS results for quarter 2 of 2006 for example, show that 81% of people asked think that PCSOs are doing an excellent or good job in their local area and 95% of people had seen PCSOs patrolling in their local area.

17. The PCSO policy team is working with the Strategy, Modernisation and Performance Directorate to devise a method of quantitative analysis for PCSO performance. The findings will inform the Performance Development Review (PDR) process and provide supervisors with guidance on setting SMARTER objectives linked to the distinct PCSO roles (i.e. Transport, Aviation security, Parks). The aim is to enhance team performance through better individual tasking.

Training

18. PCSO foundation training was subject to a performance needs analysis in 2006 and the course is now being enhanced. In April 2007, the course will be extended from four to six weeks to accommodate the revised syllabus and to incorporate the, as yet discrete, development course. Foundation training will also become pass/fail, which will bring it in line with the new development course.

19. The review identified a need for an induction process to reinforce foundation training and to facilitate a smooth transition from the training environment to operational policing. A new corporate induction process is being devised for all police staff and a variation is being tailored to meet the needs of PCSOs. Rollout is scheduled for February 2007.

20. Foundation training is delivered by a central unit (the Extended Police Family School) to ensure a robust, consistent and corporate approach to training content and the designation process, as legislatively required by the Police Reform Act 2002. If training were devolved, quality assuring the process across numerous sites would be impractical and the integrity of pass/fail assessments could be brought into question (refer to paragraphs 70-74).

21. Since the review, the introduction of additional powers has created the need for a mandatory development course. This is an opportunity to raise the standard of PCSO training across the workforce. In addition to the new powers, the course revises and enhances many foundation subjects, which PCSOs describe as their core skills. The course is eight days long and began in November 2006. Rollout is scheduled to last 18 months. In April 2007 all new recruits will receive the development training as part of their foundation course. The new Central London training facility in Victoria is used for all PCSO development training.

22. In December 2006, the Extended Police Family School (who provide all PCSO foundation training) opened a new centre in Sidcup. The facility offers tuition for 64 students across three classes. This will support new recruits who live in south London by reducing their travelling time for what is a non-residential course.

Professional Standards

23. In the early part of 2005, misconduct amongst PCSOs was found to be disproportionately high compared to other members of police staff. The Practice Management Team (who deal with police staff discipline) found that the reasons behind this were complicated and involved previous standards of recruitment, basic training, the repetitive nature of the role and a lack of knowledge amongst PCSO managers about police staff employment.

24. A number of measures have been introduced including:

• The introduction of a police staff discipline management report.
• The Practice Management Team has employed additional advisors to support operational managers across London.
• They are also working with the Leadership Academy to develop packages for HR practitioners and first line managers.
• And the Directorate of Professional standards have linked-in with their prevention and learning programmes.

The PCSO policy team has also enhanced the reference guides available on the PCSO intranet site and developed the PCSO awareness input within Inspectors and Sergeants training. As a result, the numbers of PCSO discipline cases have fallen significantly.

25. PCSO sickness has improved significantly over the past 18 months. This has been attributed to the introduction of fitness testing and medical examinations during recruitment as well as improved performance management across human resources and occupational health. Corporately, the average number of PCSO working days lost due to sickness between November 2005 and October 2006 was 10.1. This represents a continuous month-on-month improvement since August 2005 when that figure was 12.1. The Home office target for all police staff (including PCSOs and traffic wardens) is 9.0

Career pathways

26. Research reveals that one third of PCSOs want to become police officers. This could mean over 1500 PCSOs with aspirations to become constables, assuming a total workforce of 4562 by April 30, 2007. The MPS could face problems with morale if a significant number of those PCSOs are not successful when applying for police officer training. This highlights the importance of lateral development to engage staff seeking new challenges within their role.

27. The review identified a lack of lateral development opportunities for PCSOs. The MPS has been developing new roles to supplement those already available to PCSOs. The roles are identified below together with the number of PCSO currently allocated to each role. This allocation is constantly under review:

• Safer Neighbourhoods Teams (2151)
• Government security zones (250)
• Counter terrorism (50)
• Safer Transport roles on outer boroughs (378)
• Parks police (45)
• Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU) (452)
• TOCU transition from traffic wardens to PCSOs (83)
• Airport security (48)
• Station PCSOs (450)
• Victim focus desks (150)
• Established Local partnerships roles (106)
• Local Authority cost sharing initiative (399)

28. It is clear that lateral development will become a career pathway for many officers. The MPS maintains its position that PCSOs will not have a separate rank structure. Integration and mixed teams of PCSOs and police officers is the preferred policing model.

29. Since the review, the Career Development and Retention Team have written a paper on PCSO career pathways. It highlights opportunities for greater lateral development utilising the new PCSO roles becoming available i.e. station and victim PCSO, safer transport and existing roles with Transport OCU. It looks at accreditation for skills obtained in various roles and methods of recognition for those achievements. It also explores options for NVQ awards. This work is at an early stage and is being progressed through the PCSO programme board.

Pay and conditions

30. The MPA commissioning brief asks a specific question in relation to terms and conditions of employment, including working patterns, and is addressed later in this report (paragraph 65 refers).

Reflecting London: diversity of PCSO recruits compared to police officer recruits in the MPS

31. In 2006 the Metropolitan Police Authority published the paper: ‘Reflecting London: Diversity of PCSO recruits compared to police officer recruits in the MPS’. It examined why there was a difference between the proportion of women, older and minority ethnic PCSO recruits compared to police officer recruits.

32. The report’s findings showed that the PCSO role attracted more applicants from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups, more young people under 21 and more people over 35 than applied to be police officers. There was little variance in the proportion of women applying to the PCSO role. Older people felt the academic and fitness requirements of entry were less demanding and younger people felt that the level of responsibility was lower as a PCSO. There were various reasons why BME groups felt more able to apply to become PCSOs rather than police officers. These included the chance to ‘test’ being an MPS employee as a PCSO, fewer negative associations attached to PCSO role than to being a police officer and a more community based role with less likelihood of confrontation.

33. As mentioned earlier, a significant number of PCSO applicants intend to apply to be police officers. The reasons for the choice to become a PCSO first were predominantly to test the organisation and the general role of policing before committing to becoming a police officer. The long waiting time for police officer recruitment was also a factor. The number of BME applicants to become police officers is higher than the success rate for external BME applicants. The experience of being a PCSO and the positive role models of BME PCSOs becoming police officers were factors in this. The success rate for many specific groups was enhanced where the applicants had been PCSOs. For example, PCSOs from Bangladeshi backgrounds were more likely to be successful at police officer recruitment than external applicants from those groups.

34. Overall the profile of PCSOs is assisting to increase the proportion of BME police officers. The MPA report makes other observations that the residential course for police recruits and the western approach to education were less inclusive and limited accessibility to the police service. The MPA paper concludes that there are three overarching reasons for why the PCSO role has been more successful than the police officer role in attracting a more representative workforce – the community focused nature of the role, the opportunity to use the role to increase understanding of working for the MPS and the alternative option the role provides for unsuccessful police officer applicants. In addition, the PCSO and police officer roles are clearly different and will therefore attract different types of people, for different reasons. Furthermore, visible diversity amongst PCSO recruits, in itself, is an additional attractor to potential applicants from minority communities.

Bexley workforce modernisation project

35. The Bexley project ran a trial, commencing in 2005, employing PCSOs on response teams. The primary purpose of Deployment PCSOs was to support police officers on response teams by dealing with activities that do not require the powers, skills and training of a fully warranted officer. This included, for example, bail enquires, awaiting the recovery of vehicles at collisions, dealing with nuisance and anti-social behaviour calls and undertaking duties such as CCTV collection. The closing report for the Bexley workforce modernisation project is still subject to external evaluation by the Institute of Employment Studies, However an interim report is expected shortly.

36. The programme team monitored incidents in which PCSOs called for police assistance. This was to assess if PCSOs were either unqualified or inappropriately sent to certain incidents. The outcome revealed that the incidence of constables asking for the help of PCSOs outweighed that of PCSOs needing a constable’s help by a factor of about 19 to one.

37. Interim findings reveal:

• Deployment PCSOs took routine tasks from police officers.
• PCSOs were well supported in the team structure.
• Deployments were well managed by the control room.
• Police Officer morale increased – feeling that they were able to concentrate on tasks that required their warranted skills.
• Difficult to measure improvements in team performance.
• Officers’ freed up time was not readily quantified.

38. It must be stressed that these are interim findings, which have not been formally published and evaluated as yet.

39. The Bexley workforce modernisation project will be reviewed following the publication of the external evaluation and recommendations.

Modernising Operational Deployment and Enabling Staff (MODES)

40. MODES is the MPS Territorial Policing response to workforce modernisation demonstration sites. ACPO, with the agreement of the Home Secretary, is running a programme of demonstration sites for workforce modernisation over the next 24 months. The overall intention of the programme is to ‘implement change capable of releasing greater capacity and capability for the same level of investment’.

41. MODES brings together a number of existing projects and new initiatives - all with a core aim of increasing operational capacity and/or changing roles and responsibilities. The projects and initiatives that currently appear the most suitable for inclusion are grouped into three strands: Flexible deployment, criminal justice modernisation and police support officer. The latter incorporates existing projects that are placing PCSOs in station offices and on victim focus desks.

42. The Station PCSO (SPCSO) will provide an initial response to enquiries received at front counters. They will conduct the initial investigation of crimes reported in person; respond to public enquiries; make appropriate referrals to other departments and outside agencies and generally become the face of the MPS at customer contact points in police buildings. The Station PCSO will also retain a skilled patrol capacity and will be expected to conduct foot patrol in the community two days a month. This will enhance the capacity of the MPS to respond to major incidents if the need arises.

43. Station PCSOs will receive the generic PCSO foundation course. Those who have completed their probation and have been selected for the role of SPCSO will be given additional training across three modules.

• Module 1 - core professional skills for the role, including basic problem solving skills and practical experience of the most common front counter functions (approximately 7 days).
• Module 2 - the existing crime academy module (5 days).
• Module 3 - an IT module to cover Merlin, CRIS and PNC (3 days).

44. The risk assessment for this role is integrated into the corporate risk assessment and is specific for each activity undertaken. SPCSOs will receive a full PCSO uniform, including Metvest and personal radio.

45. The Victim PCSO (VPCSO) is a single point of contact for victims and witnesses of crime. Their role will involve identifying the needs of victims and responding to those needs in a consistent and compassionate manner. They will provide information about support services; explain the processes and procedures of the criminal justice system and act as liaison between police departments, CPS and the judiciary. The Victim PCSO will also retain a skilled patrol capacity and is expected to conduct foot patrol in the community two days a month. This will enhance the capacity of the MPS to respond to major incidents if the need arises.

46. Victim PCSOs will receive the generic PCSO foundation course and an additional weeks training focusing on the ‘codes of practice for victims of crime’, customer service, communication and browse/update access to the Crime Reporting Integrated System (CRIS).

47. The risk assessment for this role is integrated into the corporate risk assessment and is specific for each activity undertaken. VPCSOs will receive a full PCSO uniform, including Metvest and personal radio.

Extended roles

48. The MPS position on extended roles for PCSOs is covered within this report under ‘Modernising Operational Deployment and Enabling Staff’ and the ‘Bexley Workforce Modernisation Project’. These sections cover the development of Response PCSOs, Station PCSOs and Victim PCSOs.

49. In addition, Transport for London is investing in 378 Safer Transport PCSOs across 21 outer boroughs. These officers will work within Territorial Policing and will be responsible for policing borough transport networks, working alongside local Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

50. The Safer Transport PCSO will provide a familiar, visible and accessible uniformed police presence across the transport network. They will engage with transport communities, identifying concerns and resolving them utilising a problem solving approach. They will reduce anti social behaviour and gather information and intelligence in support of local issues and wider MPS objectives.

51. Safer Transport PCSOS will receive the generic PCSO foundation course plus the two week ‘Traffic’ course (delivered within the first 18 months of deployment), problem solving and, possibly, trackside training. The latter will be subject to a risk assessment due to the unique working environment and the appropriate level of protective equipment.

52. The PCSO programme board is retaining an overview of the separate projects that are developing new PCSO roles. This will ensure that all MPS PCSOs maintain a corporate generic competency that can be mobilised in the event of a major incident. This also allows for scrutinised evolution and quality assurance.

53. Within the financial and business planning process for 07/08 and beyond, an initiative to share the costs of PCSOs with local authorities for a two year period from 1 April 2007 has been developed. Some local authorities are seeking PCSOs to extend activity currently undertaken by street wardens, others seek PCSOs as part of their response to local challenges. It is intended that the local authorities’ share of the cost would be £20k per PCSOs (more financial information is provided in section D). It is hoped that the income can be used to provide the resources to fund the integrated borough operations functions - by creating additional posts, both officers and staff, the boroughs will be able to return to previous levels of officers undertaking front line duties. To fulfil the IBO function across the MPS using existing police officers would consume over 450 officers. The release of these officers thereby provides an additional major benefit of the investment made by local authorities.

54. If the local authorities take up less that the number of PCSOs available (399 as in para 27), decisions about the allocating the remainder will be required. We are therefore exploring options such as additional station PCSOs or using PCSOs in appropriate roles to free up other staff and we are reviewing how other forces are using PCSOs to identify other opportunities.

Use of reasonable force

55. PCSOs in the MPS are designated with a power to use reasonable force to prevent a detained person making off. The scope of this power is very limited and only relates to specified ‘relevant offences’.

56. It must be remembered that PCSOs are neither police officers nor a replacement for them. They should be seen as the 'eyes and ears' of the MPS with a responsibility to observe and to report back.

57. Given their role, PCSOs receive shorter officer safety training than police officers and they are not issued with handcuffs, asps/batons or incapacitant spray. Commensurate with their role, PCSOs are not deployed to incidents where the risks can be managed only through the use of enhanced personal protective equipment.

58. Where a PCSO comes across any high-risk incident, their duties are to take positive action such as:

• Call for further assistance;
• Observe, note and report; and
• Secure any loose weapons if, but only if it is safe to do so.

59. After careful consideration of the PCSO role, their training, equipment and the responsibility of the MPS to police staff employees (and following extensive legal advice), MPS policy instructs PCSOs to avoid physical intervention. The policy is designed to discourage PCSOs from entering violent situations that they are not trained or fully equipped to deal with safely; It would also be a role that far exceeds their fundamental principles of deployment. The policy also instructs constables not to ask PCSOs to help in the physical restraint of violent offenders. However, the policy does set an expectation that PCSOs will take positive, affirmative action to assist in resolving the situation.

60. PCSOs are bound by Common Law in the same way as a member of the public, and are required to come to the aid of a constable. The action has to be positive and proportionate and may not necessarily involve physical intervention. There are any number of ways to assist that do not involve ‘full hands on’ as outlined above.

61. PCSOs may feel morally obliged to intervene if they see a colleague involved in a confrontational incident and utilise their citizen powers under section 3 Criminal Law act. Their actions may be commendable and demonstrates a commitment to their team and colleagues. However, the key point is that the MPS cannot and should not require them to do so.

62. These MPS instructions are communicated to staff at training school, on officer safety training courses, on the Safer Neighbourhoods course, through police notices and are re-iterated at all presentations to Safer Neighbourhood teams. The policy that underpins the operational deployment of PCSOs in the MPS has been reviewed and will be published in the near future.

63. Enforcement of the ‘use of force’ policy is continuously reviewed to ensure compliance. This will be highlighted in the forthcoming PCSO Health & Safety audit, which is due for publication in February 2007.

Quality assurance

64. The use and deployment of PCSOs was comprehensively reviewed in April 2006 (see above). The review made a number of recommendations, which are referred to throughout this summary. The recommendations were translated into an action plan that is being driven forward by the PCSO programme board.

65. The PCSO programme board provides central governance for PCSO development and review in the MPS. Representatives from all business units are members, as are the MPA, PCS union, Federation and MPS Independent Advisory Group. The group meets bi-monthly.

66. The MPS also employs a PCSO policy team, working within the Safer Neighbourhoods Unit, who provides a single point of contact and reference for all staff and external agencies.

Terms and conditions, including work patterns

67. PCSOs are employed on different terms and conditions to those of other police staff – key differences are set out below. The PCSO pay structure was designed to reflect modern working practices and reflects the ethos of the modernising operations programme.

• PCSOs receive ‘time and a half’ for overtime. Other police staff receive double time for weekend and Bank Holiday overtime.
• PCSOs do not receive additional, pensionable, premium payments for weekend and Bank Holiday working.
• PCSOS currently have different holiday entitlement to other police staff (Although, as part of the 2006 pay settlement, improvements in annual leave entitlement are to be phased in over the next two years, PCSOs will, at the end of this process, still have an entitlement to half a day less annual leave per annum than other police staff).
• PCSOs receive shift disturbance allowance in common with other police staff, which can be as much as 20% of basic pay.

68. It is acknowledged that the MPS has two distinct pay structures for police staff, which are subject to regular review the pay framework should reflect:

• The demands of 24 hour policing
• The need to reward and recognise appropriately
• The need to ensure competitiveness such that we recruit and retain the right people with the right skills
• The need to consider a ‘total reward’ approach to package design, including wider benefits such as leave, pension, family friendly policies and flexible working arrangements

69. By the end of April 2007, 2151 PCSOs (approximately 47%) of PCSOs will be posted to Safer Neighbourhood teams, across 32 borough and 630 teams. The teams are integrated, with police officers and PCSOs working the same hours. Shift patterns vary according to local policing need. Research reveals:

• Across all boroughs, the earliest start time is 07.00 and the latest finish time is 03.00
• Many shifts start between 07.00 and 08.00 and late shifts end at 22.00, 2300 or 0000
• All teams work weekends, usually every second or third week
• All boroughs are flexible around working patterns
• Boroughs set their shift pattern following analysis of problems identified by the communities, and after consulting with ward panels
• Most boroughs have reviewed their shift patterns since implementation

70. The remaining PCSO workforce is split amongst Transport OCU, Royal Parks, airport security and central London security patrols. The working patterns of these units are dictated by the specialist nature of the work. However, they all work as mixed teams with constables and PCSOs working the same hours. TOCUs working patterns reflect the demands of the bus timetable and TfL considerations. Airport security match shift patterns to flight control patterns and London security provide a consistent 24/7-counter terrorism vigil.

71. Shifts are monitored for compliance with abstraction policies and working hour directives by HR services.

Is central training appropriate?

72. It is important that foundation training is delivered centrally to ensure a robust, consistent and corporate approach to training content and designation. Significantly, the Police Reform Act 2002 stipulates that all PCSOs must be suitable, capable and adequately trained prior to designation. The Commissioner must be satisfied that each and every PCSO meets that criteria. If training were devolved, quality assuring the process across numerous sites would be impractical and the integrity of pass/fail assessments could be brought into question. However, as with all training processes this is under constant view. The new central London training facility in Victoria is used for PCSO development training.

Is training sufficiently comprehensive?

73. PCSO training has constantly evolved since 2002. Foundation training is currently four weeks and, following a recent performance needs analysis, will be extended to six weeks early in 2007. The longer course will incorporate the new powers and enhanced revision topics, currently delivered on the development course. PCSO training has been developed over the past 12 months following consultation with key stakeholders. Training now truly reflects the needs of both the individual and the MPS.

Is there a sustainable induction programme?

74. The Career Development and Retention Team is devising a new corporate induction process for all police staff. A variation is being tailored to meet the needs of PCSOs. Rollout is scheduled for February 2007.

Are discipline issues covered sufficiently during training?

75. The foundation course covers the standards expected of PCSOs, both internally and by members of the public. It also deals with disciplinary issues and fairness at work. In addition to the foundation training, all existing PCSOs will receive refresher training on professional standards and discipline during the mandatory development course.

76. PCSO training has undergone a transformation in the past 12 months. What follows should be a period of consolidation and reflection. PCSO programme board should review the development course and the revised foundation at regular intervals.

Recuperative duties

77. MPS policy for recuperative duties is the same for police officers and members of police staff. These guidelines underpin recommendations in the strategy for a Healthy Police Service, launched by the Home Office in November 2002. All recuperative duty posts should match the abilities of the individual to a productive role.

78. There are a number of recuperative post options available to Safer Neighbourhoods’ PCSOs, as each borough OCU has a number of administrative support posts i.e. Criminal Justice Units, Intelligence Units, front counter triage and Missing Person Units. It is not uncommon for administrative departments with heavy workloads to encourage the deployment of PCSOs on recuperative duties to assist with peaks in demand.

79. Unlike Borough OCUs, Transport OCU (TOCU), Royal Parks and Aviation Security do not have the same scope for police staff re-deployments i.e. Criminal Justice and Crime Management Units. Also, TOCU has a special services agreement with Transport for London, which does not allow the placement of recuperative officers away from TOCU bases. Despite these restrictions, HR teams have successfully matched officers to recuperative deployments in all non-SNT roles.

80. TOCU has employed recuperative PCSOs inputting ‘Stop Slips’, as Base Controllers, in administrative roles within the Management Support Unit and TransIntel Team (TOCUs equivalent of a BIU). Royal Parks have placed officers in administration roles within their existing teams. Aviation Security has accommodated reduced hours within their existing team structure. All teams report a consistent welfare monitoring process and productive employment, which assists the officer back to full operational duties.

C. Race and equality impact

The report is not introducing new policy. It is a summary of works conducted throughout 2006 and is submitted for the information of members. The PCSO workforce is made up of 33% female PCSOs. In addition 35% of PCSOs are from Black and Minority Ethnic groups. The diversity of the people the MPS has recruited to this role helps to achieve the intention to have a service that reflects the population of London.

D. Financial implications

1. The costs of the 4562 (the budgeted workforce target as at 30 April 2007) are contained within the budget. As we are required to recruit to this level of PCSOs, the implications for accommodation, IT etc will exist whether the local authorities contribute or not. In fact, issues such as accommodation may be eased by the proposals as local authority accommodation may be available.

2. On this basis, it is proposed that the income generated through a cost sharing initiative with local authorities should be allocated to providing resources for the IBO function. This function is not currently funded within the budget but it is considered to be essential to the delivery of policing services on a borough, not least supporting the effectiveness of MetCall and thereby it is accepted as an operational imperative. The only means of funding this function now is to use police officers to supplement the low level of police staff resources boroughs can provide. The disbenefit of this is the removal of police officers from front line duties.

3. The minimum staffing model for an IBO, not including supervision (a cost of £3.1m which will be covered by the boroughs) is eight police officers and four police staff to provide 24/7 for required roles. The inclusion of officers in this model provide the essential resilience for the function, reduces training costs and provides overall operational flexibility. Resources over the minimum model will be provided by the boroughs.

4. The cost of the model for all of the boroughs – recognising that the larger boroughs require a different minimum model – is £18.5m. The income generated by the Safer Transport initiative will contribute £7.5m. The transition of TOCU from traffic wardens to PCSOs will release the funding from the Home Office for 83 PCSOs as the warden posts are already fully funded, thereby providing another contribution of £1.5m (as TP’s budget includes £1.1m income from TfL to cover the Home Office shortfall for the additional 76 PCSOs). The gap therefore is £9.5m – the cost sharing initiative will generate a maximum of £7.9m. The shortfall will be met within TP.

5. The cost sharing initiative provides an opportunity to generate income to make a major contribution to the resourcing of the IBO. One of the attractions for local authorities is the additional resource to tackle local issues – which for some is accompanied by the option of reallocating their resources from street wardens to PCSOs to obtain extended activity at no extra cost to them.

6. The proposed reimbursement of £20k for each PCSO was determined as the appropriate level to be attractive to local authorities and to provide a major contribution to the funding of the IBOs. The initiative would last for a period of two years, beginning 1 April 2007 during which time the reimbursement of £20k would be static. Any extension to the agreements would be subject to renegotiation on the reimbursement made. The contracts will bind the local authorities to the arrangement. Should any local authority wish to withdraw before the end of the agreement, there would be financial penalties for them doing so. PCSOs who may be freed up during that time by local authority withdrawal would be subsumed within the numbers needed for other roles based on wastage which would reduce the need to recruit and train new PCSOs.

7. The local authorities also benefit from the release of the police officers to front line duties (over 450 if the IBO function across the MPS was solely covered by existing police officers) and this has been a major prompt for the authorities in deciding to take part in this initiative.

8. Authority is required from the MPA for delegated authority to be given to the Commissioner to exercise the MPA’s powers under section 92 of the 1996 Police Act to take forward the cost sharing initiative with local authorities and for the chief executive to enter into appropriate agreements.

9. In addition agreement is sought to fund the minimum model of the IBOs with the income generated from the Safer Transport initiative, the cost sharing initiative and the transition of TOCU from traffic wardens to PCSOs.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Inspector Stephen Calcott, MPS.

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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