Announcement: 5 February 2010
Police Community Support Officer Recruitment Campaign now
closed.
The recent campaign in anticipation of vacancies at various
locations across the County in 2010 and 2011 has now closed.
As a result Dorset Police are currently not inviting new
applications for the above role.
No further PCSO recruitment
campaign are currently planned and it is very unlikely that any
campaign will be launched again until the Autumn/Winter of 2010.
Full details of the launch of any future campaigns will be
published on this website, which is regularly updated.
In the meantime please feel free to peruse our
website for more information relating to the role of the
PCSO
and the recruitment process.
Update for all applicants who applied between Monday
25 January 2010 and Thursday 4 February 2010 - For the latest information, please follow this
link to our Update Page >
How do Dorset Police release applications in any campaign
?
- The facility to request an application form is made available
on line during any campaign during a stated period.
- During any campaign, (before requesting any application) you
should consider whether you are eligible to apply (refer to the Eligibility section
below)
- No requests can be made before any campaign and the number of
applications to be issued in campaigns are capped, usually at a
maximum of 400*
- If you are selected to receive an application form in a
campaign, this may be issued to you at a workshop** . If you
are unable to attend a workshop or are not allocated a space
(places are limited) the form is issued by post.
*Restrictions on the number of applications
Please note that the number of applications
issued in our recruitment campaigns is restricted. Depending
on our resource requirements, we generally only run recruitment
campaigns once or twice each year and these are held over a set
period of time when interested parties are able to register their
interest in receiving an application form on-line. (the period is
generally over a week – as is the case above) If the requests for
applications (during any campaign) exceed the limit of 400, then a
random selection method will be applied to decide which applicants
will be issued with a pack.
Alternatively, if the interest does not exceed
the limit, then all individuals who have requested an application
on-line will be issued with a pack and the deadline for requesting
applications may be extended until the limit has been achieved.
Whilst we would like to be able to issue
an application to everyone who wishes to join as a PCSO, due to budgetary
restrictions this is not always practical
depending on the numbers involved. Resource requirements
required to deal with the subsequent marking, assessment and
associated administration would essentially result in fewer
officers on the beat. Whilst we appreciate the
disappointment that this may cause, I am sure you will be
supportive of the Force’s commitment to maximising front-line
resources to ensure that we continue to reduce crime and remain the
top force in the country for public confidence.
** Workshops
A number of workshops are usually held,
however places are limited. These have been designed to
provide prospective applicants (who are selected to receive
an application pack) with a brief overview of the
application/selection process and to provide the opportunity to ask
questions.
Police Community Support Officer – The
role
Starting Salary : £18,006
plus 12.5% shift allowance
Role - The primary role of a
PCSO in Dorset is to contribute to the policing
of neighbourhoods, primarily through highly visible uniformed cycle
or foot patrol, with the purpose of engaging and reassuring the
public, increasing orderliness in public places and being
accessible to communities and partner agencies, through joint
working at local level. In carrying out this role,
PCSO’s support the delivery of the force’s
strategic aims of ensuring that our communities are ‘listened to,
understood, informed, protected and safe’.
PCSOs also form an integral
part of Safer Neighbourhoods Teams across the force, and help to
deliver the objectives of the team within the framework of the
PCSO Deployment Policy, and Safer Neighbourhood
Team role requirement.
Police Community Support Officer – The pattern
of work
Dorset PCSO’s work varied
shifts, mainly day shifts and late shifts. The day shift
starts at 8am (some stations start at 9am) and PCSO’s are expected to
work until either 4pm or 5pm with a 36 min meal break. The
late shift starts at 2pm (some stations start at 1pm) and
PCSO’s
then work until 10pm, again with a 36min meal break. On
occasions, staff are asked to work beyond 10pm for specific events
or emergency situations, e.g. Fireworks event or directing traffic
at a road closure following a road traffic collision.
The shift pattern is usually 6 days of
working, starting on a Monday, followed by 2 rest days; then 4 days
of working, starting on a Tuesday, followed by 2 rest days
with a repeating cycle. Half of the shifts will be afternoon
and evening working e.g. 2pm - 10pm, approximately 10 shifts per 28
days and the other half are made up of day shifts e.g. 8am -
4pm. Weekend working is every other weekend, either a day
shift or late shift e.g. 1 day shift and 1 late shift per
month.
Dorset Police does have a Flexible
Working Policy in force. Any decisions in relation to this do
have to take into account the operational requirements.
Am I eligible to apply?
- You must be 18 years old to join Dorset Police Service as a
PCSO as
you will be required to confiscate alcohol
- You must be a British Citizen, EC/EEA
national or a Commonwealth Citizen or a foreign national with no
restrictions on your stay in the UK. You must also have been resident in
the UK for three years
prior to submitting any application form. The
calculation of the three year period of time refers to
the period immediately before an application is made, and not any
other 3 year period, or any other accumulation of time spent in the
UK. (More
information on this aspect is available on the PCSO FAQ’s above)
- Under the national guidelines if you have applied previously
and have been unsuccessful in any previous PCSO
campaign, you will not be eligible to apply until a period of six
months from date of receipt of the letter issued advising you of
your results. However, if you have an existing application
for a Police Officer role you can also apply to be a
PCSO should you wish.
- The attendance criteria policy will apply to all members
of Dorset Police who are police staff
Further information:-
For further information in relation to the
role of PCSO and in relation to other
eligibility information please visit :
Please refer to the above ‘Police Could
You’ website before registering your interest to ensure that
you are eligible to apply.
Spend the time while you wait to apply for a
post by improving your skills, such as considering other work in
your local community, improving your IS and
written English skills and ensuring a good level of fitness.
Consider the opportunity of joining Dorset Police as a Volunteer or
Special Constable. Find out more using the links on the left of
this page.
What are the stages and timescales of the recruitment
process? >>