Annual Salary
£23,000 to £29,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Police community support officers (PCSOs) work in neighbourhood policing teams to prevent crime and tackle anti-social behaviour.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts
There will be
0.2% fewer Police community support officer jobs in 2027.
As a police community support officer, you'll:
You may need to wear a uniform.
You could work in the community or on a patrol.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding and outdoors in all weathers.
You can get into this job through:
You can apply to do a Police Community Support Officer Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship.
The apprenticeship normally takes between 1 and 2 years to complete. It is a mix of class-based learning with on-the-job training.
Get in touch with your local police force for information about apprenticeship vacancies.
The skills you learn through volunteering in the community can be useful when you apply for training or jobs. There are lots of different volunteering roles, such as police support officer or special constable.
Contact your local police force about opportunities.
You can apply directly to become a police community support officer. Employers will be interested in you as a person. For example, good communications skills are very important.
You'll need a good level of spoken and written English, and some police forces may ask for English GCSE at grade 4 (C).
Each police force has its own selection process, which will usually include:
You'll need to:
Great value is placed on personal qualities like:honesty; fairness; leadership; professionalism
You can find out more about the role of a police community support officer from the College of Policing.
The training and experience you get as a police community support officer (PCSO) can help if you want to move into other areas of police work.
For instance, to become a police officer, you'll apply in the normal way but your manager may be able to arrange some work shadowing beforehand.
You can also use your skills and experience to mentor and train new PCSOs.
You'll need: