Profiles - Special Constables

Andy is a senior leader in a secondary school in Worcestershire full-time, and dedicates his time to the Special Constabulary on Friday nights from Redditch Station, leaving the weekends to himself!

How has the Special Constabulary benefitted you, either in your work or personal life?

Working for the special constabulary has benefitted me not only in my personal life but also within my career; working in the police with people of all ages has aided me when dealing with conflict. Seeing the situations some children end up in has enabled me to support students, parents and the community better. Working with the Special Constabulary has enabled me to make new friends, and work with and meet people I otherwise would never have met. It has allowed me to grow as a person, while also knowing I am making the difference to someone’s life sometimes in their lowest hours.

What transferable skills has being a Special Constable given you?

Being a Special is more than just upholding the law, investigating and supporting communities. The more you put into being a Special, the more you will get out of it. Not only do you learn about a whole new way of thinking and working, but you develop your confidence and problem solving. You develop a calm head, and find you can make decision in difficult situations and find skills and mental strength you didn’t know you had. When I started as Special, I brought with me a number of skills from my day job, but since then my skills, knowledge and confidence have developed due to being a Special, which has had a huge impact on my day to day life.

What’s the best thing about being a Special Constable?

The best thing about being a Special is knowing that you really make a difference, not only to communities, but also to the force. Some nights you can be the difference between an incident being responded to or not. Whether you’ve been in for three months or three years, no shift is ever the same. You deal with people sometimes in their darkest moments and you can more often than not go off shift knowing that due to your effort and input you have made someone’s life, or a situation better. Being a Special is about giving your all and knowing that you will get the same level of satisfaction back for your efforts.

Simon is a Special Constable with West Mercia Police, and his day job is a Territory Manager for Volvo Financial Services. He covers the north and south West of the UK, Northern Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey, providing asset funding for Volvo Construction Plant. He travels away given the size of his area.

How has the Special Constabulary benefitted you, either in your work or personal life?

At my interview for my Territory Manager role, I was asked what transferable job skills I would bring across from my voluntary role as Special Constable. I had planned an operation on my own, Operation Day Hawk, which involved utilising my colleagues and myself with a specific focus on arresting individuals who had failed to attend court and were wanted on warrant. I spent time putting together the operation and presented it to the Inspector to obtain his permission, which resulted in an arrest on day one, on day two after considerable effort a wanted individual was successfully identified and an ‘all-ports’ arrest notification issued.  

The individuals I worked with had less experience and this was an opportunity to develop their skill sets, providing them with a comfortable working environment where they were allowed to take a leading role, thus developing their confidence. Constructive feedback was given during the operation and I believe this gave them encouragement within the role.

My answer at interview gave Volvo enough insight to offer me the position and twelve days’ paid leave to continue giving to this voluntary role.

Being a Special has provided me with challenges which require “fast, working, strategies”, which in turn has helped me to develop skill sets which I can utilise in my work role by using the same thought process when a challenging situation develops.

I have more confidence in my normal day job, I feel comfortable presenting to large audiences and think carefully about my communication and the audience its intended for, ensuring that the content is tailored to deliver the message with clarity and accuracy.  

What transferable skills has being a Special Constable given you?

The ability to plan, look outside of the specific job in hand, examine variables that can take place and plan to accommodate these as and when needed. I have an increased confidence to take on increasingly difficult projects which benefits my company.

I feel that after eight years, mostly in an independent role attending police incidents on my own, I can work under pressure. ensuring that I utilise my police training (national decision making policy) whilst maintaining and adhering to the code of ethics and values and being fully accountable for my actions.

I began covering the town centre of Shrewsbury, simply carrying out high visibility foot patrols. This in itself proved to be the most rewarding aspect of the role, because it allowed me to work closely with members of the public who live in the town, in addition to working with local shop keepers who really appreciate seeing a ‘bobby on the beat’. In the summer, I give advice and directions to tourists who visit the town, and perhaps it’s their first encounter outside of London speaking with a Police Constable wearing a traditional custodian helmet - always a good opportunity to ensure that our image is maintained.

The traditional approach to policing by foot not only keeps me fit, but has allowed me to listen closely to the concerns of the people who live in the town centre and also to be pro-active in dealing with anti-social issues. Rather than being reactive, I’m allowed to be proactive addressing the local issues in the community.

I have dealt with sudden deaths, road traffic accidents, fights, thefts and traffic offences. I have become something of an expert in having now issued close to three hundred and fifty traffic tickets, attending court where necessary to give evidence.

What’s the best thing about being a Special Constable?

I love meeting new people, and I’m a great advocate for the Special Constabulary. I am pleased to say that I have assisted and helped many past colleagues who are now regular serving officers. I do more that the required hours because I’m passionate about giving something back to the place I love and live in.

I have the independence to carry to manage a work/life balance, providing hours to complete in my terms so the role fits around my family and day-to-day job. I have recently been successful in being chosen to work in Roads Policing, having undertaken Stinger training. I’m now awaiting a final training course before embarking on a new role and a new direction.