jobfacts

Police community support officer

Police community support officers — SOC 2020 6311

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) support the local police force by patrolling the streets to provide a visible and reassuring presence and to tackle a range of crime and disorder problems. PCSOs are also attached to the British Transport Police who operate the specialised police service for the railway network across Britain.

Also calledPCSOCommunity support officerCSOCivilian support officerRail community officerPolice community protection officerand 1 more titles
Typical full-time pay£35,7002025 Provisional
People in the job12,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month28↓ 28%on last year · 407th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time police community support officers earn, 2025
£35,700 typical£33,700lowest 20%£34,40025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£33,700
25%£34,400
Median£35,700
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £35,700
Scotland!£45,300
London!£36,300
South East!£36,100
South West!£34,600
North West!£34,500
East Midlands!£33,800
Wales!£33,000
North East!£28,700
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £35,700
Scotland£45,300 (small sample)
London£36,300 (small sample)
South East£36,100 (small sample)
South West£34,600 (small sample)
North West£34,500 (small sample)
East Midlands£33,800 (small sample)
Wales£33,000 (small sample)
North East£28,700 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £29,800
  • 2024 £32,400
  • 2025 Provisional£35,700
↑ 20% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 28 jobs for police community support officers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 202624
Jul 202623
Jun 202629
May 202640
Apr 202636
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 202620
Jan 202628
Dec 202512
Nov 202528
Oct 202531
Sept 202541
Aug 202544
Jul 202535
Jun 202539
May 202546
Apr 202530
Mar 202586
Feb 202573
Jan 202530
Dec 202418
Nov 202428
Oct 202438
Sept 202451
Aug 202435
Jul 202445
Jun 202436
May 202425
Apr 202445
Mar 202440
Feb 202438
Jan 202451
Dec 202339
Nov 202331
Oct 202348
Sept 202339
Aug 202344
Jul 202343
Jun 202381
May 202340
Apr 202337
Mar 202334
Feb 202336
Jan 202358
Dec 202258
Nov 202255
Oct 202282
Sept 202268
Aug 202280
Jul 202279
Jun 202255
May 202277
Apr 202264
Mar 202252
Feb 202258
Jan 202258
Dec 202142
Nov 202135
Oct 202145
Sept 202145
Aug 202147
Jul 202143
Jun 202120
May 202142
Apr 202132
Mar 202147
Feb 202122
Jan 202130
Dec 202020
Nov 202033
Oct 202045
Sept 202033
Aug 202040
Jul 202026
Jun 202024
May 202032
Apr 202043
Mar 202043
Feb 202043
Jan 202042
Dec 201931
Nov 201938
Oct 201966
Sept 201948
Aug 201959
Jul 201935
Jun 201962
May 201965
Apr 201942
Mar 201947
Feb 201970
Jan 201972
Dec 201835
Nov 201832
Oct 201845
Sept 201850
Aug 201839
Jul 201834
Jun 201845
May 201851
Apr 201843
Mar 201846
Feb 201843
Jan 201842
Dec 201733
Nov 201767
Oct 201736
Sept 201749
Aug 201761
Jul 201756
Jun 201752
May 201747
Apr 201737
Mar 201730
Feb 201735
Jan 201743
Is there a shortage of police community support officers?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthUsual
  • Pay against similar jobsAbove usual
  • Hours workedUsual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
30%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for caring, leisure and other service occupations, which includes police community support officers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London12
Highland3
Wirral3
Birmingham3
Brighton and Hove3
Bristol, City of3
Glasgow City2
North Yorkshire2
Powys2
Somerset2
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of police community support officers
n/p
n/p
20%!
28%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–4420% (small sample)
45–5428% (small sample)
55–64Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!31%
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!52%
GCSEs or equivalent!45%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent31% (small sample)
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalent52% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent45% (small sample)

Main employers: public order and safety activities (116%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
31%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 52%
Apprenticeships
1
from level 4
Apprenticeships take
1 year
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

Apprenticeship

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.

Entry requirements

Employers will set their own entry requirements.

Volunteering

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 volunteer or special constable.

Contact your local police force about opportunities.

Apply directly

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:

  • written tests
  • an interview
  • fitness tests
  • an interactive task to see how you work with other people

What you’ll need

  • be over 18 years of age
  • pass a fitness test
  • pass a medical check
  • pass enhanced background checks

You will need the right to live and work in the UK without restrictions.

A driving licence may also be required.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Great value is placed on personal qualities like:

  • honesty
  • fairness
  • leadership
  • professionalism
Further information

You can find out more about the role of a police community support officer from the College of Policing.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for police community support officer. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
FdA Policing the Community with CriminologyHigher technical5

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • patrols a geographic area to monitor and deter criminal and anti-social activity and disorderly conduct
  • assists police officers at crime scenes and major events
  • carries out house-to-house enquiries
  • provides crime prevention advice and helps to support victims of crime
  • may detain someone pending the arrival of a police officer
  • may direct traffic and arrange for vehicles to be removed

Skills

  • assist emergency services
  • handle conflicts
  • perform risk analysis
  • provide first aid
  • react calmly in stressful situations
  • write work-related reports
  • apply first response
  • ensure law application
  • ensure public safety and security
  • identify security threats
  • instruct public
  • operate radio equipment
  • patrol areas
  • practice vigilance

Knowledge

  • first response
  • law enforcement
  • road traffic laws
  • first aid
  • flood remediation equipment
  • local geography
  • traffic signs

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for community and civil enforcement occupations, a group of 2 jobs that includes police community support officers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 13%about 5,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 203511,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.