Police Community Support Officer

A police community support officer (PCSO) (Welsh: swyddog cymorth cymunedol yr heddlu, SCCH), or more correctly community support officer (CSO) (Welsh: swyddog cymorth cymunedol, SCC) is a uniformed civilian member of police support staff in England and Wales, a role created by Section 38(2) of the Police Reform Act 2002, which was given Royal Assent by Elizabeth II on 24 July 2002. They are non-warranted but are provided a variety of police powers and the power of a Constable in various instances by the forty-three territorial police forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police (which is the only special police force to employ PCSOs).

PCSOs were introduced in September 2002 and first recruited by the Metropolitan Police.

Proposals for PCSOs in Northern Ireland were prevented by a budget shortfall in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, as well as fears that the introduction of uniformed and unarmed PCSOs in Northern Ireland (PSNI constables all carry firearms) would mean they would potentially then become a "legitimate target" in the eyes of the IRA who have attacked other civilians working for the police in Northern Ireland in the past. The Police Reform Act 2002 does not apply to Scotland, which consequently does not have PCSOs. In Scotland, PCSO stands for police custody and security officers, also known by the slang nickname "turnkeys", who play a rather different role to that performed by PCSOs in England and Wales.

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Wikipedia