Important information about recruitment
The recruitment window for Police Community Support Officers is
currently closed and there are no further Recruitment Seminars
planned at this time. The recruitment window is likely to
remain closed until 2012.
Prospective applicants should continue to regularly monitor the
website for updated information.
The four steps
There are four steps you need to complete successfully in order
to become a PCSO.
- Step 1:
Obtain and fill in the
application forms. You’ll only receive on one of these if you
attend a familiarisation evening.
- Step 2:
Attend an assessment process, where you will undergo a series of
exercises designed to test the key skills you will need in the role
of the PCSO.
- Step 3:
Interview.
- Step 4:
Physical, medical and security checks.
There are regular familiarisation evenings about the role of
PCSOs
held at Cheshire Constabulary’s headquarters in Winsford which are
extremely popular. Dates for familiarisation evenings will be added
to this site.
Advice on completing the application form
- Fill out every box. If it does not apply, put n/a or a line
through the section.
- You must fully check and sign the form, including the
declaration
- The application form must be fully completed in black ink, in
your own handwriting and returned to the address listed on the
application. The pack must be weighed before posting as the postage
will cost more than a first class stamp.
- Make sure to complete the additional forms in the application
pack - the Candidate Registration Form, Vetting Form and
Assessment Preference.
- Please provide a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you
require acknowledgement of receipt of your application.
- The initial Papersift of your application takes approximately
up to three months. You will be notified as to the status of your
application once the initial stages of the process are
complete.
The most important part of the application form is the
competency-based assessment. Your answers will help us work out if
you are likely to have the skills and abilities to be an effective
PCSO.
Your answers will help us decide if we should invite you to Step
2 of the assessment process at the assessment centre.
It is important that you think carefully about your answers.
If you are unsuccessful, you will not be able to reapply for six
months.
The interview
The interview will take place in the Basic Command Unit where
you live. You’ll be interviewed by a three-person panel for between
45 minutes and an hour and be asked questions relating to the core
competency behaviours relevant to the role. Use your own experience
and examples to support your answers.
The Physical Fitness test
The Physical Fitness test is in two parts, focusing upon aerobic
capacity and upper body strength.
You will carry out a shuttle run over a 15 metre area and run in
time with a bleep. At the end of each level, the time in between
the bleeps is shortened and you therefore have to run faster to
keep up with the pace. You will complete four shuttle runs. This
involves running for approximately 3 minutes 40 seconds.
The upper body strength is measured on a 'Dyno' machine. The
pass mark is equivalent to pushing 34 kilograms and pulling 35
kilograms.