West Mercia Police

Local Policing Teams

Working alongside officers and staff from a range of specialist departments, local policing teams consist of at least one local policing officer (LPO) and one community support officer (CSO). 

In addition to using their full enforcement powers to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour, their key role is to ensure that communities have a genuine say in what local issues are addressed as priorities and how their communities are policed. To do this, they need to:

• Understand and be accessible to their local neighbourhood
• Engage communities and partners to identify safety concerns
• Agree the top priorities for neighbourhood action
• Work with partners to deliver an agreed approach
• Report back on a regular basis on what has been achieved.

What Are Local Policing Teams?

Your local policing team is made up of local policing officers, community support officers and special constables who work with the community to improve your neighbourhood. There are more than 140 local policing areas in West Mercia.

Local Policing Officer

Your local policing officer leads the team. They are supported by response officers who ensure that your neighbourhood is policed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

They are accessible to the community, helping to identify local priorities and working with partners and residents to tackle the issues that have been raised.

Community Support Officers (CSOs)

CSOs are members of police staff who carry out a range of activities to support regular police officers. With their distinctive uniform, their main role is to undertake high visibility patrols out in the community. By taking the time to talk to people and getting to know their local area, they are 'eyes and ears' of the community.

In addition to their patrol, day-to-day activities include dealing with minor offences, offering early interventions to deter people from committing offences, providing crime prevention advice, gathering evidence through observation or conducting house-to-house enquiries.

Special Constables

Special constables are volunteers who carry out a variety of roles alongside regular officers to help police their communities. They have the same powers as regular police officers (e.g. being able to arrest), wear a similar uniform and face the same challenges, but the role is a part-time one - a minimum of four hours each week, normally at weekends or evenings.

Specials form an important part of local policing teams and carry out a whole range of policing duties, including foot patrols, road safety initiatives and house to house enquiries.

If you think you might be interested in joining the Special Constabulary, visit the recruitment section of our website.

Contact Us

Emergency number - 999

Non-emergency number - 101

Non-emergency email - contactus@westmercia.police.uk