Police Community Support Officers being recruited in York

 70 more special constables also sought

PCSO-passing-out-6-June-2014-group-shotNorth Yorkshire Police have opened recruitment for Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) to join the force.

Police Community Support Officers are a critical part of North Yorkshire Police. PCSOs work at the front line of the force and provide a vital link between the police and the local communities the force serves.

They provide a visible and reassuring presence on the streets of our region and act as the eyes and ears of the force – building relationships with local communities and business owners, tackling anti-social behaviour and using the information they gather to prevent and deter crime.

PCSOs have slightly different powers to a Police Constable. They have designated powers surrounding anti-social behaviour, tobacco and alcohol, transport and fixed penalty notices amongst others.

The role can be challenging, but incredibly rewarding so North Yorkshire Police are looking for individuals who want to make a difference every day, have excellent communication and customer service skills and a genuine interest in helping others and building positive relationships.

Recruitment applications are welcome up to 9am on Monday 24 October 2016 .

For more information or to make an application go to https://northyorkshire.police.uk/jobs/

Special Constable recruitment

North Yorkshire Police is looking to recruit at least 70 new Special Constables when it opens recruitment on Monday 10 October 2016.

Special Constable recruitment opens 10 Ocotber 2016

Special Constables are volunteer police officers who have the same uniform and powers as regular (paid) police officers. They volunteer a minimum of 16 hours per month to policing York and North Yorkshire and carry out a full range of operational, front-line duties.

“Specials” as they are known, come from all walks of life and backgrounds which means that they bring with them a whole host of skills and abilities which complement those of their full-time colleagues.

 

Specials go through a rigorous training programme before they qualify to go out on the beat where they cover a wide range of duties from policing public events, to attending emergency incidents.

They can also choose to undertake further training and specialise in a particular area of policing such as public order, (policing protests, football matches etc), roads policing and joining our Rural Task Force.

Training as a Special Constable can take up to two years. Initial training takes around 19 weeks and involves weekend training sessions that culminate in a week-long course to consolidate everything the students have learnt. Students who successfully complete this initial training will then be attested – which means they swear an oath in front of a Magistrate – and are issued with their warrant cards and uniform. They then spend up to two years on the beat under the guidance of their tutor constable as a probationer Special Constable. During this time they must successfully complete a file of evidence of their experience called Student Officer Learning and Assessment Portfolio (SOLAP).

To apply to join, visit www.northyorkshire.police.uk/specials

North Yorkshire Police currently has 150 attested specials, 21 in training and a further 28 awaiting training.

A recent recruitment campaign for regular police officer saw a number of our Special Constables successfully apply to become full-time police officers. 20 of them attended their passing out parade last week.

Last modified: October 10, 2016

Minster bells silenced

The bells at the Minster may not be ringing quite so frequently for a while as the Cathedral begins a search for a new Head Bell Ringer.
Great Peter of York (1927): On a rainy day a choir sings on the steps of York Minster, witnessing the rare event of the St Peter hour bell, the third largest in the country, being unloaded from the back of an early heavy lorry. The huge bell is manually eased off on sturdy beams of timber, replacing the old one which is by now was nearly a hundred years old.

Great Peter of York (1927): A choir sings on the steps of York Minster, witnessing the rare event of the St Peter hour bell, the third largest in the country, being unloaded from the back of an early heavy lorry. The huge bell is manually eased off on sturdy beams of timber, replacing the old one which was nearly a hundred years old.

York Minster has a total of 35 bells, including the heaviest bell in the country still rung by hand. Records of them start in the 14th Century.

The Carillon (the traditional call to prayer) will continue. York Minster became the first cathedral in England to have a carillon of bells with the arrival of twenty-four small bells on 4 April 2008.The carillon bells are hung above the main ringing peal area. Unlike the ringing peal, these bells are attached to a keyboard in the ringing chamber – klavier – which only requires one person to operate it. Rather than swinging full-circle to make a sound, the clappers are hit against the side of the bell as the carilloner plays. The allows hymn tunes and melodies to be chimed.

NB The two west towers of the minster hold the  bells, clock chimes and the concert carillon. The north-west tower contains Great Peter (216 cwt or 10.8 tons) and the six clock bells (the largest weighing just over 60 cwt or 3 tons). The south-west tower holds 14 bells (tenor 59 cwt or 3 tons) hung and rung for change ringing and 22 carillon bells.

The clock bells ring every quarter of an hour during the daytime and Great Peter strikes the hour. The change ringing bells are normally rung regularly on Sundays before church services. These are added to the existing “Nelson Chime” which is chimed to announce Evensong around 5.00 pm each day, giving a carillon of 35 bells in total (three chromatic octaves). The bells were cast at the Loughborough Bell Foundry of Taylors, Eayre & Smith.