Community Safety Accreditation Scheme - FAQs

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What are Community Safety Accreditation Schemes?

Community Safety Accreditation Schemes have been made possible through the Police Reform Act 2002 and aim to raise awareness, improve standards and promote and develop co-operation between the police and their partners.

Accredited employees may be granted limited but targeted powers appropriate to their role and which meet local needs and priorities.

They will also benefit from additional protection under newly created legislation. Improved information sharing between the police and accredited organisations will help co-ordinate visible patrols and direct resources effectively to improve quality of life within the community.

How will the police and accredited persons work together?

A key part of the accreditation process is the development of Joint Operating and Information Sharing Protocols between the applicant organisation and the accrediting force.

The protocols are drawn up, and regularly reviewed, at a local level to ensure that expectations, operating procedures, lines of communication, appropriate confidentiality rules and safeguards, etc are all in place. Draft protocols are available to ensure that all relevant points are covered.

Is the government forcing organisations to seek accreditation for their employees?

No. The Police Reform Act 2002 makes it clear that setting up an accreditation scheme is at the discretion of the force chief officer after consultation.

It is then a matter for local employers to decide whether they want their employees to be accredited and what, if any, powers they wish them to have.

Why should organisations seek accreditation for their employees?

Employers benefit from public confidence that their employees have reached acceptable standards of appearance, suitability for the post (including vetting and competence) and training. The public is also assured that the organisation itself has reached acceptable standards in management, supervision and accountability.

Their employees would be eligible for some minor police powers that could help to improve the impact they are having on community safety, anti-social behaviour and liveability issues.

What kind of organisation can apply for its employees to be accredited?

Accreditation is an important means of harnessing energy and commitment within the extended police family. Employers in community safety or security roles who are engaged in the vital tasks of combating crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour may seek accreditation regardless of whether they are drawn from the public, private or voluntary sectors.

Although the list is not exhaustive, this could include local authorities, housing associations, local voluntary sector organisations, licensed private security firms, NHS trusts, charitable organisations and some companies in the leisure industry (such as those who act as stewards in sports stadia).

What are VOSA Schemes?

A number of forces have established specialist accreditation schemes for inspectors in the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA).

Inspectors are issued with the single power to stop vehicles for the purpose of testing. This allows them to test vehicles without police assistance and so frees police officers to focus on other tasks. Further information can be obtained from the Road Policing Unit.

Leicestershire Constabulary have already accredited this organisation.

Why should police forces begin an accreditation scheme?

By setting up accreditation schemes the police strengthen their links with organisations already contributing to community safety. Accreditation schemes help to ensure the standards of those working to assist them in their Force area.

By making targeted powers available to those working to promote community safety, accreditation allows them to deal with problems without police presence and so save officer time.

The Chief Constable can work with employers to ensure that uniforms within a given area do not give rise to confusion. Accreditation also helps to improve the quantity and quality of police intelligence.

Through accreditation the police can ensure that those carrying out patrols in the community are able to gather and present intelligence in a way that best suits police needs.

What powers can an accredited person have?

Powers will only be granted if they are appropriate to the role that is being performed and they assist the accredited persons to be more effective in the role. They must also comply with local needs, policies and priorities.

The following powers are made available to accredited persons in Schedule 5 of The Police Reform Act 2002:

• Require name and address of a person who has committed a relevant offence: for penalty notices and offences that cause injury, alarm and distress to another person or damage or loss of another's property.
• Require 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 being consumed in a designated place.
• Confiscate alcohol from young persons.
• Confiscate cigarettes and tobacco 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.
• Stop a vehicle under sub-section 3 of section 67 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 {c 52} for the purposes of a test under sub-section 1 of that section.
• Control traffic for purposes other than escorting a load of exceptional dimensions and also for the purpose of conducting a traffic survey.
• Require 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.

Issue FPNs for:-

• Riding bicycle on footpath.
• Dog fouling (will be replaced by offences under dog control orders [Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005]).
• Littering.
• Graffiti and fly-posting.
• Parents of truants.

Issue PNDs for:

• Sale of alcohol to person under 18.
• Buying or attempting to buy alcohol for consumption by a person under 18.
• Consumption of alcohol by a person under 18 or allowing such consumption.
• Delivery of alcohol to a person under 18 or allowing such delivery.
• Consumption of alcohol in a designated public space.
• Possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework.
• Possession of a category 4 firework.
• Breach of fireworks curfew.
• Supply of excessively loud fireworks.
• Throwing fireworks in a thoroughfare.
• Wasting police time or giving false report.
• Using a public electronic communications network in order to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
• Knowingly giving a false alarm to a person acting on behalf of a fire and rescue authority.
• Behaviour likely to cause harassment alarm or distress.
• Trespassing on a railway.
• Throwing stones, etc at trains or other things on railways.

Section 89(7) of the Anti-social Behaviour Act ensures that APs are only able to issue those PNDs which are considered appropriate.

It enables the Secretary of State to remove by order accredited persons power to issue penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) available under section 1 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. This includes any future PNDs added to this section.

Every accredited person will carry an identification card. This card sets out the powers an individual is trained and authorised to use. A person commits an offence if they fail to comply with any authorised request from an accredited person or fails to provide their name and address when required.

Must accredited organisations take up all available powers?

Since local needs and problems vary from area to area, organisations may apply for some or all of the powers available.

It is possible for organisations to seek and receive the benefits of accreditation for their employees without requesting any additional powers. The decision to grant powers is at the sole discretion of the Chief Constable.

Under what conditions can accredited persons exercise their powers?

Accredited persons can only exercise their powers in the area of the Force that has accredited them (this is with the exception of the power to direct traffic for the purposes of escorting an abnormal load).

APs must be clearly wearing the approved as well as the accreditation badge. They must also be able to present, on request, a document detailing their accreditation.

Will accredited persons have a power of detention or arrest?

Accredited persons do not have any special powers of arrest or detention. They do have the general citizens power of arrest but there is no expectation that they shall exercise this power as part of the scheme.

Can accredited persons detain you if you give a false name and address when being given a Fixed Penalty Notice?

They may be given the power to request the name and address of someone acting in an anti-social manner. Failure to give them this information in these circumstances is an offence and is liable for a fine. They may not detain a person for giving a false name and address.

Can an offence be committed against an accredited person?

Yes – it is an offence to:

• assault, resist or wilfully obstruct an accredited person in the execution of their duty or any person assisting them;
• impersonate an accredited person with intent to deceive or make any statement or do any act calculated to falsely suggest that a person is accredited.

It is also an offence for an accredited person to make any statement or do any act calculated to suggest that they have powers which exceed the powers they actually hold.

Do wardens need the powers that accreditation has to offer?

Accreditation gives wardens an opportunity to take on more powers. Although some warden schemes are not keen to take on powers, others feel that some powers, used in full co-operation with the police, may be of use.

Wardens do not have to be issued with all or any of the powers that are available to them. They need only take on the ones that they and their police force feel would be of particular use to them. None of the powers is compulsory. Only where the police and accredited employers together consider it to be a good idea will wardens be issued with them.

What standards need to be reached?

The Police Reform Act sets out a number of requirements on force chief officers before they can make an accreditation. They must be satisfied of the following:

• The employing organisation must have a satisfactory complaints procedure (PRA 2002 40[9]).
• The employing organisation must be fit and proper person to supervise the work of an AP (PRA 2002 41[4a]).
• The employee is suitable to exercise the powers that are to be conferred upon him (PRA 2002 41[4b]).
• The employee is capable of effectively carrying out the functions for the purpose of which these powers are being conferred upon him (PRA 2002 41[4c]).
• The employee has received adequate training for the exercise of these powers (PRA 2002 41[4d]).

What training is required to be accredited?

The Police Reform Act 2002 41(4d) states that a force chief officer may not grant accreditation unless he is satisfied that the person concerned has received adequate training for the exercise of his powers.

It is therefore a matter for the chief officer to determine the exact extent of the training that the accredited person requires. This will vary depending on the role being carried out by the AP and the powers that are being included in their accreditation.

Don't the procedures that need to be carried out before somebody can be accredited duplicate the work of the Security Industry Authority?

No. The standards for licensing required by the Security Industry Authority and those in the accreditation process will be consistent. It is likely though that accreditation standards will be higher than those required by the SIA because accreditation may give an individual access to certain police powers.

What if not all the employees of my organisation are suitable for accreditation?

This could happen. Not all of the employees an organisation puts forward may meet the standards required. There is no general solution to this problem and responses will differ depending on the numbers of employees affected, the deployment requirements of the employers and the views of the force.

Potential solutions include only accrediting supervisors, the redeployment of those who do not meet the standards or choosing to postpone accreditation altogether. Whatever the favoured option it will clearly require sensitive management by the employers and the force.

Are accredited persons employed by the police?

No. Accredited persons remain under the full control of their employer. Where the police and the employer have together developed deployment arrangements and protocols, accreditation will strengthen this. However, accreditation does not require that the police direct the deployment of APs.

How much will accreditation cost?

Costs incurred by the police in the accreditation process can be passed on to the organisation concerned. These can include the costs of periodic re-assessment. The cost of actual accreditation schemes varies from force to force.

Who is liable if an accredited person is sued for unlawful conduct?

Accredited persons (APs) remain under the control of their employer and, in the event of a civil action resulting from the unlawful conduct of an AP, the employer is held to be joint tortfeasor.

How do I complain about an accredited person?

Section 40(9) of the Police Reform Act 2002 states that it is the duty of a force chief officer who establishes a community safety accreditation scheme to ensure that the employers concerned have satisfactory arrangements for handling complaints.

Each organisation that employs accredited persons, therefore, will have its own complaints procedure to which members of the public should first apply.

What uniform do accredited persons wear?

Under Section 42(2) of the Police Reform Act, accredited persons may only exercise the powers conferred on them in a uniform that has been approved by the force chief officer.

None of the forces with accreditation schemes has required people accredited by them to change their uniform. Police forces have determined that for now it is better that accredited persons continue to use the brands they have already developed. Some forces may, in the long run, decide that it is better to standardise the uniforms of accredited persons across a force area.

What does the badge look like?

The badge must be worn on the uniform of any accredited person before they can exercise any of the powers granted to them under an accreditation. The badge must replicate the proportions and colours of the published badge and be worn in the chest region of the uniform to ensure proper visibility when dealing with members of the public face to face, and must be of a minimum size of 73mm x 80mm.

Details of how the badge may be worn or used in logo form are set out in the style guide provided by the Home Office. Beyond this the exact proportions and location of the badge are a matter for the chief officer.

What happens when an accredited organisation has employees working in more than one police force area?

The Association of Chief Police Officers has issued guidance on Accreditation that addresses this issue.

It recommends that where a large national organisation seeks accreditation for its staff it should apply first of all to the police force area covering the head office of the relevant organisation. That force should then consult with all the relevant forces before accreditation.

From February 2005, however, ACPO CPI will receive and process applications for approval from such companies in the private sector only. ACPO CPI will inform Chief Constables of companies in their areas that it recommends for approval. A database will be available for enquiries or information.

What is the difference between accredited persons and police community support officers?

Unlike accredited persons, police community support officers (PCSOs) are employed by the Police Authority and act under the full control of the force chief officer.

They are eligible for a similar, though slightly larger range of minor powers. A significant difference is that PCSOs can, in certain areas, detain a suspect for 30 minutes if they believe they have been given a false name and address.

Why do we need both police community support officers and accredited persons?

The police and their partners in community safety have a range of options available to them for providing patrols in their communities.

These include police community support officers, employees of local authorities, whether accredited or not, and private organisations’ employees, again both accredited and not. The government’s view is that local decision-makers are best placed to decide what suits their area.

Different places have used different combinations of the various options on offer. Many areas have found that the different types of patrol work well together and can complement each others roles.

Why can't we have more police?

The public demands a more visible presence of authority in its neighbourhoods and town centres to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

The full range of the wider police family, with police officers working alongside special constables, police community safety officers and accredited persons, is all about meeting these demands. The accreditation process increases the resources available to provide this reassurance at no extra cost to the police force.