Crime Crime Solutions
Community Support Officer (Detention Power) Pilot
The Police Reform Act 2002 gives new Community Support Officers the power to detain someone they suspect has committed an offence for up to 30 minutes. When this power was first introduced there was concern that it might not be practical or useful to enforce. A pilot was established in 6 areas to evaluate the operation of the new power. This publication reports on the findings of this study.
Title: Community Support Officer (Detention Power) Pilot:
Evaluation Results
Author: Lawrence Singer (Home Office)
Number of pages: 14
Date published: September 2004
The Police Reform Act 2002 makes provision for Community Support Officers to be designated with the power of detention. Where a CSO has reason to believe that a person has committed a relevant offence he or she may require that person to supply their name or address. A relevant offence is defined as either a fixed penalty offence or an offence which has caused injury or alarm to another person or the loss of or damage to property.
If the individual concerned refuses to give a name or address or the CSO suspects that the details that have been given are false then the CSO may 'require the person to wait with them for up to 30 minutes pending the arrival of a constable'. Alternatively the CSO may accompany the person to a police station with that person's agreement. Any person who fails to wait with the CSO as required or who tries to make off is guilty of an offence. CSOs may use reasonable force in order to detain a person, but they are not supplied with handcuffs, batons or CS spray.
The evaluation involved six police forces undertaking a pilot that covered a 15-month period from January 2003 to March 2004. The participating forces provided a wide range of policing environments from urban through suburban to rural contexts. The focus of the evaluation on five specific aspects relating to the detention event:
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the time and place of the detention
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the reason for the detention
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the level of cooperation between the CSO and detainee
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the outcome of the detention
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the characteristics of the detainees
A very brief outline of the conclusion for each of these aspects is given below and more detail can be found in the full report.
In summary, the findings from the evaluation are very positive with no indication of there being a significant risk to either the CSO or the detainee as a consequence of the exercise of the power to detain.
Location
Shops and residential areas accounted for most of the locations where detention took place.
Time of day
Most detentions took place during daylight hours, with afternoons seeing more detentions that evenings.
Cause of detention
The causes of detention were quite varied. The most frequent causes cited were anti-social behaviour, theft or general suspicious behaviour.
Level of co-operation
Most detainees co-operated with the CSO, and generally levels of co-operation were better at the end of the detention that at the beginning.
Outcome
In around half of all cases the detainee was arrested on the arrival of a police officer. Of the remaining possible outcomes, most were either released after providing a satisfactory name and address or released after the arrival of a police officer.
Characterics of detainees
Around two-thirds of detainees were aged between 10 and 24 years, almost 85% were male and almost 80% were white. Analysis of age, ethnic background and gender of detainees found no significant bias in relation to reason for detention, whether the detainee was reported to be abusive, or the final outcome of the detention.
Getting a copy
Download
Community Support Officer (Detention Power) Pilot: Evaluation
Results from the Home Office RDS website 
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Last update: 1 October 2004