The citizens of Kent can all now sleep safer in their beds at night ![rolleyes.gif](http://4.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/rolleyes.gif)
They are the first of more than 270 new police community support officers (PCSOs) who will work in neighbourhoods across the county to provide a visible uniformed presence and deal with local problems.
Early in the new year the 43 trainees, aged from 19 to 55, will start patrolling the neighbourhoods where they will soon become familiar faces, getting to know residents and local organisations. There they will work to understand the issues of concern to local people and find ways to improve local quality of life.
First they have to complete seven weeks of basic training, which includes a fitness -*test*-('"), first aid, personal safety training, diversity and the law. They will also learn about the powers they can use to deal with anti-social behaviour and how they can work with residents and other agencies to deal with problems.
PCSOs have some enforcement powers to tackle local nuisance behaviour, such as issuing fixed penalty notices for littering, graffiti, riding on footpaths and illegal sale of alcohol. They can confiscate alcohol and cigarettes from young people, deal with abandoned vehicles and in certain cases stop vehicles for road checks.
Their presence in an area means they can also quickly alert police officer colleagues to developing problems.
After their training they complete a three-week probationary period shadowing an experienced police community support officer mentor. Then they start work in their neighbourhood. Some will have their own beat, while others will work as part of neighbourhood teams with police officers and local authority wardens.
More PCSOs to come
Another 50 future PCSOs start their training just after Christmas, with more to come in February, as part of the force’s drive to recruit 273 new PCSOs by April 2007. This will bring the number of those working in neighbourhood roles to 381.
The first 43 will work across Kent. Their distribution by policing area will be:
North Kent - five
West Kent - nine
Mid Kent - seven
Medway - four
East Kent - nine
South Kent - nine
Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Leppard: 'We are delighted that we are now well on the way to making sure that by 2008 every neighbourhood across the county will have a named uniformed contact.
‘We know from residents’ feedback in areas where police community support officers already work that they are greatly valued and are already making a real difference to the local quality of life.
‘Our PCSOs provide a friendly and accessible point of contact with Kent Police and are able to identify developing local problems early so that we and the other organisations we work with can respond.’
They are the first of more than 270 new police community support officers (PCSOs) who will work in neighbourhoods across the county to provide a visible uniformed presence and deal with local problems.
Early in the new year the 43 trainees, aged from 19 to 55, will start patrolling the neighbourhoods where they will soon become familiar faces, getting to know residents and local organisations. There they will work to understand the issues of concern to local people and find ways to improve local quality of life.
First they have to complete seven weeks of basic training, which includes a fitness -*test*-('"), first aid, personal safety training, diversity and the law. They will also learn about the powers they can use to deal with anti-social behaviour and how they can work with residents and other agencies to deal with problems.
PCSOs have some enforcement powers to tackle local nuisance behaviour, such as issuing fixed penalty notices for littering, graffiti, riding on footpaths and illegal sale of alcohol. They can confiscate alcohol and cigarettes from young people, deal with abandoned vehicles and in certain cases stop vehicles for road checks.
Their presence in an area means they can also quickly alert police officer colleagues to developing problems.
After their training they complete a three-week probationary period shadowing an experienced police community support officer mentor. Then they start work in their neighbourhood. Some will have their own beat, while others will work as part of neighbourhood teams with police officers and local authority wardens.
More PCSOs to come
Another 50 future PCSOs start their training just after Christmas, with more to come in February, as part of the force’s drive to recruit 273 new PCSOs by April 2007. This will bring the number of those working in neighbourhood roles to 381.
The first 43 will work across Kent. Their distribution by policing area will be:
North Kent - five
West Kent - nine
Mid Kent - seven
Medway - four
East Kent - nine
South Kent - nine
Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Leppard: 'We are delighted that we are now well on the way to making sure that by 2008 every neighbourhood across the county will have a named uniformed contact.
‘We know from residents’ feedback in areas where police community support officers already work that they are greatly valued and are already making a real difference to the local quality of life.
‘Our PCSOs provide a friendly and accessible point of contact with Kent Police and are able to identify developing local problems early so that we and the other organisations we work with can respond.’