The Long Road to Nowhere?

The purpose of this dissertation is to identify any correlation between the retention of Community Support Officers (CSO’s) and their integration and management in the Police. CSO’s were introduced into the Police in January 2005 after a short trial period to evaluate their contribution to the police service. They were introduced as a means of increasing the visible presence of the Police Service through foot patrol and community engagement. They are the visible face of policing, increasing public confidence and satisfaction. If this vision is to be realised CSO’s must be retained for a significant period of time. Presently CSO’s are resigning nationally at a rate of eight percent every six months. This can rise as high as fifty percent over the same time period while other police teams have retained all their CSO’s for as long as two years.