Profiles

:: February 2007

Police Community Support Officers were first introduced in the UK in response to long-standing concern about the lack of a significant police presence on our streets.

The South Yorkshire police force says there'll be more than three hundred PCSOs in Sheffield by May 2007 so we decided to follow a new recruit over a six month period.

BBC Radio Sheffield reporter Anna McCalliog went to meet Matthew McNair, the first PCSO for Wybourn in Sheffield. Read and listen to the diary here...

PCSO Matthew McNair on duty

The day begins...

"The first thing I do when I arrive at work is to check emails and the briefing system which tells you if anything's been going off overnight" says Matt. "For example if someone is given an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) then the briefing system tells you what exactly the circumstances are - what conditions the person has to stick to within their ASBO and things like that.

"And then into the locker room where all our stuff is kept. I'm slowly getting the knack of the kit, it's not the most comfortable!

Stab vests

"It was a strange thing when I was told I'd have to wear a stab vest because it makes you think, where am I going if I've got to wear a stab vest?!

"But then while we were training there was a PCSO in Manchester who got stabbed and at that point you think, I'm glad I've got a stab vest. All the other officers wear them as well so it's not like we [PCSO's] are being treated differently."

Scary areas?

What did your parnets think about you being a PCSO? asks Radio Sheffield's Anna McCalliog.

"My mum was really pleased and my dad was too. But there's times when mum has been a bit worried for me - as all mothers are.

"Because I'm not from Sheffield, I'm from Barnsley, when I said I was working in Wybourn and Manor people say: "Ooh Manor, Wybourn, not good..." So my mum did the parental thing of panicking and thinking 'is he going to be alright?' But she knows I'm big enough and strong enough to run away if I need to!"

PCSO v Police Officer

Matt's patch covers the Wybourn and Manor areas of Sheffield, with Manor Oaks Road running through the middle, so there's a lot of walking involved. Anna asks Matt the difference between a PCSO and a police officer.

Dirty rotten scoundrel!

"The main difference is that the vast majority of our time is spent out and about - out of the station, on foot" says Matt. "We're getting back almost like the old community bobby on the beat.

"We have the civilian powers of arrest, but unlike police officers we don't have handcuffs and batons. We still have the protective equipment we need but because in theory we're not going to have to deal with the things that police officers deal with, we don't need equipment like handcuffs and batons."

Do what you think is right

But that doesn't mean that PCSOs don't come across robberies or muggings, as Matt explains:

"First and foremost if a PCSO comes across a mugging or a robbery or something we try and help where we can.

"You've got to assess your own safety though and if it's something you feel you can potentially deal with then you deal with it. But if it's a situation where you would automatically radio and say what you've seen - then you're not going to try and stop it.

"So you do what anyone would hopefully do if they saw someone being mugged or attacked. You do what you think is right."