Your Neighbourhood Policing Team Explained

Neighbourhood Policing is all about putting local communities – their needs, their issues and their priorities – at the heart of local policing. With this aim in mind dedicated Neighbourhood Policing Teams have been introduced throughout Sussex.

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Each Neighbourhood Policing Team covers a locally agreed geographic area. Team members are visible, accessible, locally known and knowledgeable about their areas. As well as dealing with crime and disorder they also work with partners to resolve the problems and issues that matter most too local people.

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In overall charge of neighbourhood policing teams are NPT Inspectors. NPT Inspectors co-ordinate all aspects of neighbourhood policing and make sure that the Sussex Police model of neighbourhood policing is strictly adhered to by the teams under their supervision.

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The size and make-up of each individual Neighbourhood Policing Team varies according to the nature of the area its covering and the particular needs of the local community. However every single Neighbourhood Policing Team has at least one of each of the following:

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Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant

Each Neighbourhood Policing Team has a Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant who is responsible for co-ordinating the efforts of the Neighbourhood Policing Constables and Police Community Support Officers that make up the team. Neighbourhood Policing Sergeants are primarily office-based but members of the public are welcome to contact them by email if they’d like to put forward any comments or suggestions regarding their local Neighbourhood Policing Team.

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Police Community Support Officers

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) assist Neighbourhood Policing Constables by providing a visible, accessible, familiar and reassuring presence within the local community.

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PCSOs spend the majority of their time patrolling their local area, providing help to the public and dealing with incidents of nuisance and anti-social behaviour by engaging with communities. By dealing with minor incidents PCSOs help NPCs to make more effective use of their time – acting as trained ‘eyes and ears’ to enable regular officers to focus on dealing with issues that require their additional range of powers and training. PCSOs can also be given a number of limited powers which allow them to deal with low level crime and other quality of life issues.