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Five Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) part-funded by the University of Reading, have passed a year in their posts tackling crime and anti-social behaviour on the university’s Whiteknights Campus and the surrounds.
PCSOs are uniformed officers who although not sworn in as police constables, have powers to tackle a variety of issues in the community such as anti-social behaviour, seizing alcohol and issuing penalty notices when necessary.
The University part-funds three full-time and two part-time posts. They are often engaged in a variety of community events, manage police surgeries, attend public meetings and gather intelligence for their police officer colleagues.
Rhiann Davies, Deputy Security Services Manager at the university, said: "The University is very pleased to lend its support to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. Crime levels on the campus have been falling over the last few years and our PCSOs have a role to play in maintaining that trend. PCSOs are very proactive in their roles, building links with neighbours and offering advice to students in private rented accommodation to make them less of a target to theft. They also give talks in local schools and do a wonderful job working with the local community as the campus is just part of their patrol beat. They have been a fantastic asset to us in their first year." The university employs 20 full-time security staff on its campus plus 16 dedicated to security in its halls of residence.
