Police Community Support Officers in Wales review: summary

This paper reports on findings from a literature review of the available evidence relating to the roles, activities and contributions of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). To account for the limited evidence relating to Wales, the literature review was complemented by two workshops with Police Community Support Officers and police officers from the four Welsh police forces.

As part of the 2011-2016 Programme for Government the Welsh Government committed to funding an additional 500 PCSOs in Wales. This commitment was maintained through the 2016-2021 government, and in 2021 the Programme for Government committed to funding a further 100 PCSOs. In response to budgetary challenges Welsh Government funding to PCSOs was reduced as part of the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 financial years.

The aims of this review were to collate and consider what evidence existed on the contributions of PCSOs and the extent to which they contribute to Welsh Governments commitment to neighbourhood policing and wider aims around community safety and wellbeing. As well as contributions, the review also sought to consider evidence relating to the day-to-day work and activities that PCSOs are tasked with and how that interacts with their contributions.

This review consisted of two stages. First, a literature review was undertaken with the assistance of the Welsh Government Library Services. A range of literature was considered, including journal articles, government reports, research reports, books and some theses where relevant. The literature identified from the library search was complemented by other searches conducted by the author. To complement the literature search and in recognition of the paucity of literature relating to Wales, two workshops were undertaken with PCSOs and neighbourhood police officers to allow some insights into how the findings from the literature aligned with the experiences of PCSOs in Wales.

The activities and role of PCSOs

In considering the role of PCSOs a consistent theme within the literature was the intention that the core function of PCSOs should be to engage with the public, to be immersed within local communities and to be a visible presence within communities, and as part of this the importance of social capital in the work of PCSOs. While there was a consistent framing around the guiding principles of PCSO activity a persistent and recurrent theme across the literature was that of significant variation in PCSO activity. This variation is seen in many ways, including in the powers available to PCSOs, the uniforms of PCSOs, how PCSOs are deployed and significantly the activities and work that PCSOs engage in. This variation is expected as it represents the need for PCSO work be responsive to the local context, needs and requirements of communities. 

In considering the variation of PCSO work a helpful distinction in the literature was between ‘community support’ and ‘police support’ functions. While it was noted that effective PCSO activity generally involves elements of both these aspects of work, there was some indication that there can be tension between these functions. 

There was frequent reference in the literature to the issue of abstraction whereby PCSOs were being tasked with activities that take them away from their community engagement work, such as to alleviate pressures in other areas, to support targeted operations, to patrol ‘hot spot’ areas, or being tasked with paperwork in police stations. Such work could remove PCSOs from their neighbourhood which while not an issue on occasion can compromise the neighbourhood engagement function if it was persistent occurrence. While the issue of abstraction is not necessarily a new concern, there was some evidence to suggest that such pressures have become more prevalent due to broader financial and capacity constraints, both within police forces and other partners, which have resulted in PCSOs being asked to cover other functions previously undertaken by other partners.

Contribution of PCSOs

In terms of the contribution of PCSOs, there was a common note of caution in the literature regarding the challenges in assessing and identifying the impact of PCSOs due to the nature of the work that they do. In considering the contributions of PCSOs the findings from the literature review were organised around four key themes: ‘community engagement, public trust and legitimacy’, ‘visibility, perceptions of safety and reassurance’, ‘crime and disorder reduction’ and ‘recruitment and diversity’.

In terms of community engagement, public trust, and legitimacy the review found varied evidence on the extent to which PCSOs increased trust but the idea that PCSOs play an important role in promoting community engagement was a recurrent theme in the literature. With regards to barriers to community engagement, these could be both organisational and environmental, including things like abstraction, changes to deployment and shift patterns, and large patrol areas. 

With regards to visibility, perceptions of safety and reassurance, there was some limited evidence to suggest that PCSOs do have positive contributions in terms of increased visibility and perceptions of safety although there was evidence of a dosage effect whereby overly high levels of visibility may be counterproductive to reassurance efforts. In terms of barriers to increasing visibility and reassurance, the review found evidence that abstraction, increased use of vehicles and expansion of patrol areas can present a barrier to increasing visibility. 

When considering PCSO contributions around crime and disorder reduction the availability of evidence was limited, and somewhat mixed. Some research found that deploying PCSOs as part of a hot spot approach led to reduced crime and emergency calls, other research which considered deployment in ‘micro hot spots’ found higher crime levels of crime and disorder in the treatment area. 

In terms of recruitment and diversity, early evidence from soon after their introduction suggests that PCSOs did attract a more diverse range of candidates with a broader range of motivations and aspirations than those seeking to become police officers, which did support the diversification of the police force. However, there is some evidence to suggest that in more recent years as recruitment has tightened, PCSOs have been increasingly seen as a stepping stone to becoming a police officer which may have had an effect on the profile of those looking to become a PCSO.

To complement the findings from the literature review two workshops were undertaken with PCSOs and police officers working in Wales. The workshops focussed on individuals’ motivations to becoming a PCSO, the perceived contributions of PCSOs and enablers and barriers to PCSO work. 

When discussing motivations to become a PCSO, key themes that emerged included the desire to serve local communities and to make a positive impact local people as well as the framing of PCSOs as a route into becoming a police officer. When talking about PCSOs being used as an entry point, respondents discussed how it affected the type of people joining, and the types of behaviours and experiences they looked to get out of the role. The lack of clear pathways of progression for PCSOs was noted, with the only route for progression being to become a police officer.

When discussing the perceived contributions of PCSOs respondents discussed their primary contribution in terms of their role in engaging with the public and maintaining a visible presence in communities. In talking about the type of work that they do, these were wide ranging and often reflected particular local contexts but could include things around homelessness or supporting those with addiction or mental health needs. Respondents also discussed the importance of engagement with schools and building relationships with children and young people. In terms of the effects on crime and disorder, PCSOs largely viewed their value in terms of prevention and de-escalation, but also highlighted how their work can directly support the work of r police officers, either through provision of information, acting as first responders, or by taking advantage of the different relationships PCSOs are able to cultivate with members of the public. 

Respondents in the workshop noted a number of enablers and barriers to their work. In terms of enablers respondents mentioned the autonomy afforded to PCSOs in pursuit their functions. When discussing powers, there were mixed views with some respondents feeling that the current availability of powers were sufficient, while others felt that their powers were not sufficient although they noted a degree of caution about the expansion of powers. Initial training was largely seen to be useful, but it was noted that refresher training may be beneficial. In terms of abstraction and resourcing, respondents noted that abstraction was an issue that affected their work in Wales which has been exacerbated by resourcing pressures, but also noted the broader challenges presented by resourcing constraints which hindered their work, such as access to equipment or vehicles.

This review brought together existing literature and insights from workshops to build a clearer picture of the role and contributions of PCSOs in Wales. Given the limitations of the scope of the review, the authors were not able to provide an evaluation or assessment of the impact of PCSOs, individual practices or Welsh Government funding. Instead, the aim of the review was to identify key themes of PCSO work across England and Wales and where there may be further opportunities to investigate and expand on existing research. The findings of the literature highlighted a divergence between Welsh Government and the Home Office’s approach towards PCSOs, particularly following the change in the UK government in 2010 and in response to subsequent austerity measures that were put in place.  While the core purpose of PCSOs (community engagement and visibility) was consistently recognised, the reality of their day-to-day work is far more varied. The review found examples of difficulty between managing community support efforts and police support functions, which along with the issue of abstraction, showed that PCSOs often feel conflicted, especially under growing financial and resourcing pressures.

The literature review highlighted that there is limited evidence regarding the impact and contribution of PCSOs due to the complex landscape in which they operate, which can make assessing impact difficult. PCSOs appear to play a valuable role in building trust and reassurance within communities, but their impact on crime reduction is harder to measure and less conclusive.

However, the support that PCSOs provide to police functions and to police officer colleagues was a recurrent theme within both the literature review and the focus group findings.

The overarching findings of this review would suggest that there is a need for more research to be carried out in order to better explore and understand the role of PCSOs in the context of Welsh policing and the impact that they have on Welsh communities.

Report author: Louisa Smith

Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the Welsh Government.

For further information please contact:
Public Services and Local Government Research
Knowledge and Analytical Services
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: Research.PublicServices@gov.wales

Social research number: 15/2026
Digital ISBN: 978-1-80633-881-8