Information about the role of response constable, including the role purpose, key responsibilities and the skills required.
About the role
A response constable is a response position within the community policing sector. It's a service deliverer role in the policing professional profiles.
Role purpose
Response constables provide frontline response to a wide range of incidents that may include complex and confrontational situations.
Key responsibilities
Key responsibility statements show the accountabilities for someone in this role. They focus on what is done, not how it is done.
- Responding to a wide range of incidents in an appropriate, professional and timely manner, in accordance with guidance, policies and procedures, to support public confidence in policing.
- Assessing immediate threat, harm, risk and vulnerability to determine a proportionate response in line with the law, policy and guidance to protect life and property, preserve order, prevent the commission of offences and bring offenders to justice.
- Taking initial control of the incident, and where appropriate liaise with supervision, partners and other agencies to develop initial and dynamic working strategies.
- Conducting efficient and effective investigations, determining the significance of information, intelligence and evidence from a variety of sources to generate lines of enquiry, inform decision making, achieve appropriate disposals that are public-focused and to support evidence-based policing.
- Engaging with victims and witnesses who may be vulnerable, in accordance with equality, diversity and human rights considerations, to provide initial support in line with the victim codes of practice.
- Identifying and managing suspects in line with codes of practice and legislation to achieve the agreed working strategies.
- Maintaining awareness of actual and potential risks to individuals, groups and businesses, taking appropriate action to protect and support those in need of protection to pre-empt or effectively address safety or vulnerability issues.
- Collating and recording information, intelligence and evidence gathered, where appropriate recording crimes and incidents in accordance with national standards, to ensure the investigation can proceed promptly and effectively.
- Justifying and professionally accounting for actions and outcomes to ensure adherence to legal frameworks and working principles, policies and guidance.
Competencies, values and core skills
The competency and values framework (CVF) provides clear expectations for everyone working in policing. It describes the behaviours required by police officers and staff to be effective in their roles and uphold the Code of Ethics for policing.
Competencies
The CVF has six competencies, which are split into levels. These levels can be used flexibly to allow for a better fit with frontline and non-frontline policing roles, and at different levels of seniority. This ensures that there is consistency throughout all the policing professional profiles. Some roles may contain different CVF levels due to the specialist nature of the role. Those working at higher levels should also fulfil the requirements of the lower levels.
This role should be operating at or working towards the following competencies.
- We are emotionally aware – Level 1: practitioner
- We take ownership – Level 1: practitioner
- We collaborate – Level 1: practitioner
- We support and inspire – Level 1: practitioner
- We analyse critically – Level 1: practitioner
- We are innovative and open-minded – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
Values
The CVF has three values that apply to everyone in policing, regardless of their role or seniority.
Core skills
All roles in policing have nine core skills in common. These are split into levels that represent the different levels of policing. This role should be operating at or working towards the following core skills.
- Communicating and influencing – Level 1
- Problem solving – Level 1
- Performance management – Level 1
- Relationship management – Level 1
- Change management – Level 1
- Managing people – Level 1
- Managing resources – Level 1
- Planning – Level 1
- Use of IT – Level 1
Education, qualifications and experience
Previous education, qualifications and experience
- None specified.
In-role education, qualifications and experience
- Experience of attending incidents and problem solving, particularly in difficult circumstances, including major and critical incidents and in the application of joint emergency services interoperability programme (JESIP) principles.
- An understanding and application of the national decision model and 10 principles of risk.
Continuing professional development
Continuing professional development (CPD) enables everyone in policing to develop and gain recognition for their professional skills, knowledge and competence.
CPD ensures that we continue to provide high-quality policing to keep the public safe and help to drive career aspirations. Discussion of CPD is usually included as part of professional development review (PDR) conversations.
Learning and accreditation
To achieve effective performance in the role, the following training should be met.
- Annual taser, public order public safety (POPS) and public and police safety training (PPST).
- Complete all core training and learning required by the force.
- Any exemptions to learning and accreditation requirements are at chief constable discretion, in line with the local force policy.
Professional development
This role should consider the following CPD:
- maintaining an up-to-date understanding of police regulations, legislation and College of Policing guidance, best practice and any local policy applicable to the operational police context
- maintaining and updating knowledge, understanding and skills relating to criminology, legislation, policy and practice across all functional policing areas of operational policing
- maintaining knowledge and understanding of new approaches identified by evidence-based policing research and problem solving, test and synthesise these into working practice, championing innovation and changes to practice
- maintaining a working knowledge and understanding of new and evolving crime threats and priorities and current best practice to tackle these to enable a proactive and preventative approach
- maintaining personal resilience through understanding the health and wellbeing of yourself and others
- identifying and sharing ways to enable continuous and public-focused improvement to the service
Related roles
You can find other service deliverer roles in the: