Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) 2026
Applications are invited for the role of Police Community Support Officer for Cleveland Police.Cleveland is the second smallest police force area in the country, covering approximately 231 square miles and with a population of over 585,000 people. It comprises of the four boroughs of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees. Every town in the region has its own unique identity and personality. Cleveland’s geography is as diverse as the communities that live here. Its landscapes range from dense urban centres to large swathes of rural farmland overlooked by the Cleveland Hills. The area is also lined on its east side by coastal communities facing the North Sea.
Despite its small geographical size, Cleveland Police is one of the busiest police forces in England and Wales and faces significant challenges with high levels of crime and demand for policing services resembling that experienced by much larger metropolitan forces. At Cleveland Police we have a focus on protecting people, protecting communities, tackling criminals and striving to be the best we can be at all we do.
PCSOs play a vital role in helping to improve relations between the police and local communities and as a key point of contact you will provide knowledge, reassurance and resolution on a wide range of policing matters. As a PCSO you will spend the majority of your time in the community, providing visible patrols, working proactively to address crime trends and engaging with local communities and businesses.
You will work with the local community and partner agencies to:
- Prevent and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour
- Reduce repeat victimisation
- Reduce harm and fear of crime
- Increase confidence in our force
You will play an active part in making our communities safer through an approach that is focussed on visibility, engagement, problem solving and community resilience. Under the Neighbourhoods Guarantee, the force will have increased patrols in town centres and other hotspots based on local demand and intelligence to tackle key local issues that affect our communities such as anti-social behaviour, shop theft and vandalism.
In your career as a PCSO you will be on your feet out and about every day, meeting with the public, talking to businesses, schools, colleges and engaging with organisations. You will spend time gathering intelligence so attention to detail and problem solving skills will be key. You will be someone who is happy to be on patrol on your own and be able to make decisions quickly and effectively.
This is an ever evolving role so you should be someone who is happy to work to changeable priorities and deadlines. You also need to be resilient, able to deal with confrontational situations and to persuade people by the power of your reasoning.
All PCSOs complete a structured training and tutoring programme and is designed to give you a solid understanding in the essentials of a PCSO's role and powers, ultimately allowing you to achieve independent patrol.