§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if county support officers will be issued with(a) body armour, (b) radios and (c) other forms of officer safety equipment; if they will undergo (i) officer safety training and (ii) first aid training: who will supervise the CSOs; whether additional training in supervision will be provided to officers assuming this responsibility; who will complete CSO annual appraisals; if they will form part of the service PDRs; who will be responsible for CSO professional development; and who will be required to check and monitor reports generated by the CSOs; [86809]
(2) if there will be a facility for the services of a county support officer to be dispensed with if the required standards are not achieved; if there will be grading within the CSO infrastructure; who will be responsible for CSO complaints and discipline; what arrangements have been made for CSO transport; if the CSOs will have their own drivers; and who will deal with administration in connection with CSOs; [86808]
(3) who will brief and de-brief county support officers; if they will be posted operationally with police officers; who will be assuming responsibility for discharging a duty of care towards CSOs; what impact he estimates additional supervision will have on 637W (a) sergeants and inspectors; where CSOs will be based; what educational standards are necessary for recruitment to CSO recruitment; what medical and health standards are required; if CSOs will be required to attain a set level of fitness; what the requirements are with respect to previous convictions; what the content is of the CSO training programme; who will be delivering the C SO training; where it will be delivered; and if he will make a statement. [86810]
§ Mr. DenhamChief officers can designate persons employed by their police authority as Community Support Officers (CSOs) under section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002 when they are satisfied that the person is a suitable person to effectively carry out the functions for the purposes of which he is designated and that he has received adequate training in the carrying out of those functions. Issues such as the deployment, equipment, and supervision arrangements for CSOs are operational matters and are determined by chief officers with knowledge of the local areas where they will deploy CSOs. A chief officer can also remove a designation if he considers that the conditions for designation are no longer met.
CSOs are a new addition to the extended policing family. We are aiming to have 1,200 CSOs deployed nationally in 27 forces by 1 April 2003. Once the lessons from the deployment of the first batches of CSOs become clear the Secretary of State, following consultation with the Association of Police Authorities and the Association of Chief Police Officers, will issue a Code of Practice under section 45 of the Police Reform Act to which chief officers must have regard, to set out good practice in relation to some of these matters.