Powers exercisable by PCSOs in Cheshire

Cheshire Constabulary Police Community Support Officers are designated by the Chief Constable of Cheshire with the following powers and may exercise them when on duty in uniform within the Cheshire Constabulary area.

The activities that PCSOs are involved in are:

  • Youth engagement
  • Community Action Meetings and Police Surgeries
  • ArcAngel scheme to target alcohol-related crime and licensing issues
  • PubWatch, which encourages a safer social drinking environment, OffWatch, which tackles illegal alcohol sales, HomeWatch, the crime prevention scheme in neighbourhoods
  • Environmental offences
  • Home safety checks in support of the Fire Service
  • Princes Trust in partnership with the Fire Service
  • Crime prevention advice in support of the Area Crime Reduction Advisors
  • Crime scene preservation
  • Traffic duties and parking offences
  • Support of police and partnership operations within the community

They have the power to:

  • Require name and address of a person acting in an anti-social manner.
  • Require name and address of a person committing a relevant offence or relevant licensing offence.
  • Detain a person who has committed a relevant offence.
  • Confiscate alcohol in a designated place and dispose of it.
  • Confiscate alcohol from persons under 18 in a public place and dispose of it.
  • Confiscate tobacco from persons aged under 16 years in a public place and dispose of it.
  • Search for alcohol and tobacco.
  • Seize drugs and require the name and address of a person possessing drugs.
  • Disperse groups and remove persons under 16 to their place of residence under Section 30 Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
  • Remove children in contravention of curfew notices.
  • Remove truants to a designated place.
  • Issue Penalty Notices for Disorder.
  • Seize and remove vehicles under Section 59 Police Reform Act 2002.
  • Require people to stop begging.

Fixed Penalty Notices

PCSOs are authorised to issue Local Authority Fixed Penalty Notices for offences in respect of:

  • Dog Control Orders.
  • Dog Fouling.
  • Littering.
  • Truancy.
  • Graffiti.
  • Fly Posting.

PCSOs are authorised by laws agreed between Cheshire's Chief Constable and a relevant bylaw making body to enter certain licensed premises with a Constable to enforce offences of:

  • Sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk.
  • Obtaining alcohol for a person who is drunk.
  • Sale of alcohol to children.
  • Purchase of alcohol by or on behalf of children.
  • Consumption of alcohol by children.
  • Sending a child to obtain alcohol.
  • Stop and Search in authorised areas under Terrorism Act 2000.
  • Enforce a cordoned area under Section 36 Terrorism Act 2000.
  • Carry out road checks under Section 4 PACE 1984.
  • Enter and search premises to save life or limb or to prevent serious damage to property.
  • Place traffic signs in exceptional circumstances.
  • Stop and Direct Traffic & Pedestrians other than when escorting a load of exceptional dimensions.
  • Stop a pedal cycle being ridden on a footpath and issue a fixed penalty notice.
  • Stop vehicles for roadside testing.
  • Direct traffic for purposes of escorting a load of exceptional dimensions.
  • Require name and address for offences under sections 35 or 37 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
  • Remove abandoned vehicles causing obstruction or danger.
  • Photograph persons away from a police station.

What powers do PCSOs have?

PCSOs can be given a range of powers to deal with the environment, transport, anti-social behaviour and security.

Cheshire PCSOs are assigned to Neighbourhood Policing Units and to duties and specific areas of work within the remit of the PCSO role including high visibility reassurance patrols, community engagement, neighbour nuisance issues and anti-social behaviour.

Cheshire also has numerous part-funded PCSOs in partnership with agencies such as Parish Councils, Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords. These agencies have entered into a Service Level Agreement with the force.

As part of these agreements, the force reports to partners on a quarterly basis on the performance of the PCSOs and these reports detail number of hours worked, activities undertaken and results achieved.

A recent exercise undertaken by Cheshire Constabulary with the agencies that part-fund PCSOs showed that the majority of the partners are satisfied with the level of service they receive.

As part of the work with partnership agencies force, PCSOs have received specialist training to enable them to assist in partnership operations and initiatives. These include:

  • Local Authority Fixed Penalty Notice training to allow PCSOs to issues local Authority tickets
  • Cycle proficiency training to allow PCSOs to support road safety in training young people.