Special Constabulary

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The Special Constabulary is the volunteer section of a statutory police force in the United Kingdom, its officers are known as Special Constables or informally as Specials. Every Home Office, British police force has a special constabulary, except the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which has a Reserve instead. The British Transport Police, and other British Isles, including the Isle of Man Constabulary and States of Guernsey Police Service also have Special Constabularies, but the States of Jersey Police, does not.

Special Constables are not the same as Police Community Support Officers - PCSOs who are employed by police forces to provide operational support to regular officers, but with no powers of arrest. Special Constables usually work for a minimum of 16 hours per month (or 200 per year), although many do considerably more. Special Constables may receive some expenses and allowances from the police service, including a £1000 "recognition award" in Scotland, and some forces in England, but their work is otherwise voluntary and unpaid.

Special Constables have identical powers to their regular (full-time) colleagues, the only difference being a limited jurisdiction for Special Constables in England and Wales but this will change in 2007. Special Constables work alongside regular police officers, but most Special Constabularies in England and Wales have their own organisational structure and grading system, which varies from force to force; Special Constabularies are headed by a Commandant or Chief Officer, who are themselves Special Constables. Within Scotland, a number of forces in England and Wales, and the British Transport Police, Special Constables have no separate administrative structure and no grading system.

In Australia, various states and jurisdictions also have Special Constables within law enforcement groups.

1 History
2 Uniform and insignia
3 Equipment
4 Powers and jurisdiction
5 Duties
6 Acceptance
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

While the idea of a populace policing itself dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, with English Common Law stating that all citizens have the legal obligation to come to the assistance of a police officer, it was not until 1673, when Charles II ruled that citizens may be temporarily sworn in as constables during times of public disorder. This ruling was in response to rising public disorder relating to enforcement of religious conformity, and any citizen refusing to acknowledge the call would have been subject to fines and jail sentences. The 1673 act was enforced for centuries after, mainly used to call up constables in the north of England. ^[1]

Public disorder of that nature was renewed during the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, which was coupled with falling living standards and starvation. In 1819, mass meetings calling for Parliamentary reform took place across England, including 60'000 demonstrators rioting in Manchester where a special constable was killed. In light of these events, in 1820, an act was passed allowing magistrates to recruit men for the special constables.

In 1831, Parliament passed “An act for amending the laws relative to the appointment of Special Constables, and for the better preservation of the Police^[1]. This act, forming the basis of special constable principles to the modern day, and in particular allowed the formation of special constables outside of times of unrest, if the regular police force was deemed to be too small in a particular area. Specials were also granted full arresting powers like their regular counterparts at this time, as well as weapons and equipment to carry out their duty.

A further act in 1835 redefined the Special Constabulary as a volunteer organisation, and expanded its jurisdiction. The Constabulary was redefined for the last time into the organisation which exists today during World War I, where they were instructed to safeguard water supplies from German infiltrators.

[edit] Uniform and insignia

Special Constables generally wear identical uniforms to their regular colleagues. In some constabularies, their shoulder number may be prefixed with a certain digit or they may have additional insignia on their epaulettes which is usually a crown with the letters SC underneath it (although some forces just use the letters). Formerly, male special constables in English and Welsh forces did not wear helmets while on foot patrol, but in most forces they now do. Some forces may also issue special constables with a different hat badge than that of their regular counterparts.

[edit] Equipment

Special Constables all carry the same personal protective equipment (PPE) as their regular counterparts, such as handcuffs, batons, incapacitant spray (CS spray, Pepper spray, or in some forces a solution called PAVA) and protective vests. The issuing of equipment varies from force to force with financial factors being the main reason behind the differences. In some forces protective vests, or body armour, may be personally issued to an officer, made to measure, however many other forces cannot afford this practice and instead the use of pool sets is prevalent. The same practice is also seen with regard to radios, although many forces provide Special Constables with personal radios that they keep in their locker, other forces may only have pool sets.

[edit] Powers and jurisdiction

Whether on or off duty, Special Constables have the same powers and responsibilities as their regular colleagues.

In Scotland, Special Constables are "members of a police force" as defined by the Police Scotland (Act) 1967 and have full powers throughout Scotland.^{[citation needed]}

However special constables on England and Wales only have the powers of a constable in the force area for which they are appointed, and force areas contiguous (i.e. next to their own). This will change in April 2007 when the Police and Justice Act 2006 amends the Police Act 1996. From this date Special Constables appointed in England and Wales will have the powers of a constable within any force area in the same manner as regular officers.

There are three limited exceptions to this general rule:

The City of London Special Constabulary area of jurisdiction is extended to that of the Metropolitan Special Constabulary.
If utilised on mutual aid to a differing police force, special constables inherit the area of jurisdiction of that force's special constables.
The British Transport Police's complement of Special Constables hold the same jurisdiction as their regular counterparts.

[edit] Duties

As well as patrol duties, specials often police events such as sports matches, carnivals, parades and fêtes. While this event policing is the stereotypical image of a Special Constable, it only represents one of the wide range of duties undertaken.

Many Special Constables have taken the opportunity to join specialist teams within their constabularies such as marine support, dog units and roads policing.

[edit] Acceptance

Historically, Special Constables were often looked down upon by regular officers and resented, as they were sometimes seen as 'hobby bobbies' and not proper police officers, and were often considered to be preventing 'real' regular officers from earning overtime pay.^{[citation needed]} Nowadays, they now have a much closer relationship with the regular police and are a supplement to understaffed police forces, although there are still some instances of specials being treated less favourably.

A sizeable proportion of regular officers have served as Special Constables before joining the regular force, which is encouraged by recruitment departments. Most police forces will appoint Special Constables from the age of 18 and-a-half at the time of acceptance onto the training course.

Allowing Special Constable to be paid for their work has been a historical issue, with mixed comments from all sides, with some people thinking that as specials are doing much the same job as regular officers they should be paid the same, but others thinking that this would attract the 'wrong' type of person, as on the whole it is easier to become a Special Constable than a regular police officer.^{[citation needed]}