Student PCSOs to take part in practical training exercise in York

Student Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from North Yorkshire Police will complete their Community Practical day in York tomorrow (9 March 2010).

The officers, who are nearing the end of their eight-week initial training at Police Headquarters, Newby Wiske, will be undertaking community and reassurance based practicals in the Coppergate Centre. These are specifically designed to test the PCSOs' communication skills when dealing with issues such as missing children, anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and drunk and disorderly.

The student officers will be "on patrol" in the shopping centre alongside experienced officers who will monitor and assess their progress.

Jack Woodhams, Community Engagement Coordinator for the Initial Police Learning and Development Programme, said: "The Community Practical day is the ideal way to asses the competencies of the student officers. All the student officers will be finishing their eight weeks of initial training, and the role-plays enable the consolidation of their classroom-based learning into practical application.

"We use members of the public as role-players to act out situations that the student officers may face on a day-to-day basis. This is a great opportunity for the people of York to participate in officer training."