Neighbourhood Policing Constable

This profile has recently been updated to include the CVF 2024 and core skills, and the new version can be found on College Learn by entering the Profile title in the search function. Please note this profile is out of date and is in the process of being reviewed.

Neighbourhood officer, working as part of a neighbourhood policing team, to provide a presence that is accessible to, responsible for, and accountable to that community.

Working collaboratively to address community issues through the use of problem solving by integrated working with a range of public and private partners, building trust and confidence and developing a detailed understanding of the community.

• Identify threat, harm and risk through developing an understanding of local issues in order to best protect the community.
• Engage with partners to support and safeguard vulnerable individuals and groups within the community to prevent them becoming victims or repeat victims of crime or disorder.
• Identify a range of approaches, including partnership working, to manage and divert those at risk of reoffending to reduce their impact on the community.
• Support community engagement and participation in policing by aiding in the development of a range approaches to support crime prevention, building social cohesion and building community confidence in policing.
• Use recognised problem solving techniques to develop targeted approaches to reduce the impact of crime and disorder on the community.
• Use policing powers to solve community problems in a just and fair way and explain their use to support the principles of procedural justice and build trust and confidence in policing.

Prior Education and Experience:

• Typically, a PC is likely to have achieved a Level 3 qualification (or equivalent) prior to entry.
• Completed mandatory assessments on recruitment.

Skills:

• Able to develop a deep knowledge and understanding of a local community including society composition, the needs of the vulnerable and local safety issues.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to set out logical arguments clearly and adapt language, form and message to meet the needs of different people/ audiences.
• Good team working skills demonstrating awareness of individual differences and providing support as required.
• Able to proactively develop effective working relationships with colleagues, partners and other stakeholders, understanding their needs and concerns.
• Able to identify the drivers of behaviour, acting with discretion and emotional intelligence to manage conflict and defuse difficult situations.
• Problem solving skills with the ability to identify cause and effect and develop a course of action designed to target root causes as well as manage impacts.
• Able to interpret and apply guidance to a specific activity.
• Able to critically question and identify potential opportunities to enhance efficiency and/or effectiveness within own area of work.
• Able to identify, analyse and manage risk to inform balanced, proportionate, evidence based decisions.
• Able to review and reflect on own performance objectively and to take steps to maintain and enhance competence and professional standards appropriate to the role.
• Good time management skills with the able to appropriately prioritise and plan own work.
• Skilled in the use of standard IT packages, systems and/or databases to fulfil role requirements.
• Skilled in applying personal safety tactics, including the use of equipment and restraints.

• Maintain an up to date understanding of Police Regulations and College of Policing Guidance, best practice and any local policy applicable to the neighbourhood policing context.
• Maintain and update key knowledge, understanding and skills relating to criminology, legislation, policy and practice across all functional policing areas of neighbourhood policing.
• Maintain knowledge and understanding of new approaches identified by evidence based policing research and problem solving, test and synthesise these into working practice, championing innovation and changes to practice.
• Maintain a working knowledge and understanding of new and evolving crime threats and priorities and current best practice to tackle these in order to enable a pro-active and preventative approach and their impact on neighbourhood policing
• Complete all annual and mandatory training.

Not applicable

Specialist Constable roles, for example:

• Roads Policing Constable
• Response Constable
• Detective Constable

Please note that this list is not exhaustive.