Community Safety Accreditation Schemes are a means by which the Chief Constable

Chief Constable

Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...

 of a police force in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 may grant a limited range of police powers to employees of non-police organisations who contribute towards community safety. Community Safety Accreditation Schemes were created under section 40 of the Police Reform Act 2002

Police Reform Act 2002

The Police Reform Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Amongst the provisions of the Act are the creation of the role of Police Community Support Officer, who have some police powers whilst not being 'sworn in' constables, and the ability for Chief Constables to confer a more...

. Individuals who have been granted these powers are known under the Act as Accredited Persons.

Powers

A Chief Constable may grant some or all of the following powers to an Accredited Person as part of a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme:

• The power to:
  • require the name and address of a person who has committed a criminal offence that causes injury, alarm and distress to another person or damage or loss of another's property, or to whom a penalty notices has been issued;
  • require the name and address of a person acting in an anti-social manner;
  • require a person to stop drinking in a designated public place and confiscate and dispose of alcohol
    Alcohol
    In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
    
     being consumed in a designated place;
  • confiscate alcohol from young people;
  • confiscate cigarette
    Cigarette
    A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
    
    s and tobacco
    Tobacco
    Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
    
     products from young people;
  • require the removal of abandoned vehicles;
  • stop cyclists if they are suspected of having committed the offence of riding on a footpath
    Sidewalk
    A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
    
    ;
  • stop a vehicle for the purposes of an inspection;
  • control traffic for the purpose of escorting abnormal loads, for the purpose of conducting a traffic survey, and for other purposes
  • require the name and address of a driver or pedestrian who fails to follow appropriate directions;
  • photograph a person who has been given a penalty notice away from a police station.

• The power to issue a fixed penalty notice
  Fixed Penalty Notice
  Fixed penalty notices were introduced in Britain in the 1950s to deal with minor parking offences. Originally used by police and traffic wardens, their use has extended to other public officials and authorities, as has the range of offences for which they can be used.In recent years, this has...
  
  :
  • for riding a bicycle on footpath;
  • for dog fouling;
  • for littering;
  • for graffiti
    Graffiti
    Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
    
     and fly posting;
  • to parents of truant
    TruANT
    Truant is Alien Ant Farm's second album. It was released on August 8, 2003 by DreamWorks Records. The producers of the album were Stone Temple Pilots' guitarist and bassist Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo....
    
    s.

• The power to issue a penalty notice for disorder
  Fixed Penalty Notice
  Fixed penalty notices were introduced in Britain in the 1950s to deal with minor parking offences. Originally used by police and traffic wardens, their use has extended to other public officials and authorities, as has the range of offences for which they can be used.In recent years, this has...
  
   for:
  • the sale of alcohol to person aged under 18;
  • buying or attempting to buy alcohol for consumption by a person aged under 18;
  • consumption of alcohol by a person aged under 18 or allowing such consumption;
  • delivery of alcohol to a person aged under 18 or allowing such delivery;
  • consumption of alcohol in a designated public space;
  • possession by a person aged under 18 of an adult firework;
  • possession of a some restricted fireworks;
  • breach of a fireworks curfew;
  • supply of excessively loud fireworks;
  • throwing fireworks in a thoroughfare;
  • wasting police time
    Wasting police time
    Wasting police time is listed as a criminal offence in many Commonwealth countries.- United Kingdom :In England and Wales, one can be charged by police with the offence under Section 5 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 when one "causes any wasteful employment of the police" by "knowingly making to any...
    
     or giving a false report;
  • using the telephones in order to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;
  • making hoax calls to the fire services;
  • behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress;
  • trespass
    Trespass
    Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...
    
    ing on a railway;
  • throwing stones, etc. at trains or other things on railways.

The powers available to individuals accredited under a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme are less than those of a Police Community Support Officer

Police community support officer

A police community support officer , or community support officer is a uniformed non-warranted officer employed by a territorial police force or the British Transport Police in England and Wales. Police community support officers were introduced in September 2002 by the Police Reform Act 2002...

 (PCSO).

The Act also makes it a criminal offence to assault

Assault

In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...

, resist or obstruct an Accredited Person in the execution of their duty, impersonate an Accredited Person, or for an Accredited Person to suggest that they have powers which exceed the powers they actually hold.

Requirements for accreditation

A person accredited under a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme has to be assessed as suitable to exercise their extra powers, trained in their use and capable of carrying them out. The Act also requires that the organisation employing an accredited person must be 'fit and proper' and that they must have a satisfactory complaints procedure in place.

An accredited person remains under the control of their normal employer, and is not managed by the police force. Therefore if an accredited person breaks the law, their employer, rather than the police, could be sued.

The law requires that an accredited person wears a uniform approved by the police when exercising their powers, and that they also carry with them a badge with the logo shown and detailing the powers which they are entitled to exercise.

Examples

Common examples of people granted powers under a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme include security guard

Security guard

A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...

s, community, parish, park

Park

A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...

 and dog wardens, beach patrol

Beach Patrol

Beach Patrol is a half-hour television series airing on Tru TV. The show features lifeguards and police working together to apprehend criminals and save lives....

s, trading standards

Trading Standards

Trading Standards is the name given to local authority departments in the UK formerly known as Weights and Measures. These departments investigate commercial organisations that carry out trade in unethical ways or outside the scope of the law.-History:...

 officers, and housing association staff.

In the Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Avon & Somerset Constabulary is the territorial police force in England responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Somerset, the city & county of Bristol and the unitary authorities of South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset; before 1996 these districts...

 area, examples of Schemes include:

• Community wardens working for Teignbridge District Council,
• Security guards employed by MacLellan International Ltd at the The Mall Shopping Centre at Cribbs Causeway near Bristol.

In the Essex Police

Essex Police

Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...

 area, employees of a number of organisations have been accredited:

• Southend Hospital
• Basildon Hospital
• Braintree District Council
• Basildon District Council Anti Social Behaviour Order Wardens
• Maldon District Council
• Colchester Borough Council
• Chelmer Housing

In the Hertfordshire Police area, accredited persons include:

• security staff at the University of Hertfordshire
  University of Hertfordshire
  The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...
  
   employed by Unisecure Ltd,
• employees of Parkguard Ltd.

In the Nottinghamshire Police

Nottinghamshire Police

Nottinghamshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the shire county of Nottinghamshire and the unitary authority of Nottingham in the East Midlands of England. The area has a population of just over 1 million....

 force area:

• Community Protection Officers employed by the Community and Neighbourhood Protection Service of Nottingham City Council
  Nottingham City Council
  Nottingham City Council is the non-metropolitan district council for the unitary authority of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire. It consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards, elected every four years. It is led by Jon Collins, of the majority Labour Party. The deputy leader of the...
  
   work alongside police officers and police community support officers.

Discussions are also underway to use the Scheme to give marshalls of on-road cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

 events the power to stop and direct traffic.

The Railway Safety Accreditation Scheme Regulations 2004 give the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police

British Transport Police

The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...

 the power to establish similar schemes on the railway network.

Statistics

An audit published by the Home Office

Home Office

The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...

 in August 2008 showed that 21 out of 42 police forces had granted Accredited Person status to a total of 1,406 people in 95 organisations. 19 of the employing organisations were private companies. Essex Police

Essex Police

Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...

 had accredited the most people, 291 individuals in 25 organisations.

The powers which had been granted most widely (by more than 20 forces) were the power to seize alcohol from a person aged under 18 in a designated place, the power to seize tobacco from a person under 16, and the power to require the name and address of a person acting in an anti-social manner.

In addition, 255 officers of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency is a non-departmental public body granted Trading Fund status in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Transport of the United Kingdom Government.-History:...

 had been granted powers to stop lorries for checks on vehicle and driver compliance across England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

.

Controversy

Some commentators have criticised the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme for conferring police-like powers on non-police officers. Amongst the criticism levelled at the Scheme are that it is an "unjustified extension of surveillance powers" and "snooping on the lives of ordinary citizens".

The Police Federation

Police Federation of England and Wales

The Police Federation of England and Wales is the representative body to which all police officers in England and Wales up to and including the rank of Chief Inspector belong. There are 141,000 members as of July 2009...

, the organisation representing police officers, also opposes the Scheme, referring to it as "another way of bringing in private policing".

External links

• Community Safety Accreditation Schemes Good Practice Guidance, Home Office website
• Guidance on Community Safety Accreditation Schemes, Association of Chief Police Officers
  Association of Chief Police Officers
  The Association of Chief Police Officers , established in 1948, is a private limited company that leads the development of policing practice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.ACPO provides a forum for chief police officers to share ideas and coordinates the strategic...
  
  website