Karen Reed has been a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for 5 years on the Saint Matthews Estate in Leicester.  Before joining the force she was a manager in a supermarket for twenty years.   She got talking to the local beat officer who told her he thought she’d make a great PCSO - after two decades working in the retail industry she had great people skills. Karen was looking for a career change and decided to apply.  She’s never looked back.

“I love being a PCSO.  I am a real people person and I wanted a job with variety and I didn’t want to sit behind a computer all day.  I found the recruiting process straight forward and was really pleased to get through.  I feel so lucky to be working on the St Matthews Estate with PC Reg Varney – there is never a dull day!  I genuinely love it, I love the diversity of the people who live on the estate and everyone is so friendly.  Even if I am having a down day, and everyone has them, I go out on patrol and someone will bring me up.

“No two days are the same and I feel like I can really make a difference to people.  Most people on the estate know me well now and they can speak to me about all sorts of things and I get a lot of reward from that.

“Everyone has been fantastic at Spinney Hill Police Station.  It feels like being part of a big family and everyone gets on whether you are a police officer, PCSO or member of staff.   I would definitely recommend being a PCSO in fact, don’t hesitate to apply.”