Metropolitan Special Constabulary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Metropolitan Special Constabulary, known as the MSC, is the part-time volunteer Police Force of the London Metropolitan Police Service. It was created 175 years ago under the Special Constables Act of 1831. It currently consists of approximately 2,000 special constables, however the Met has recently announced plans to expand the Special Constabulary to 6000 Officers by 2012 (The Job March 2008). Once Special Constables have finished their foundation training, they take the Police Oath at an attestation ceremony at New Scotland Yard. At this event, they are issued with their Warrant Card and then they enjoy the full powers and privileges of a Constable throughout England and Wales and adjacent Waters.[1] Prior to 1 April 2007, members of the Metropolitan Special Constabulary only had jurisdiction within the Metropolitan Police District and adjacent force Districts: Kent, Surrey, Essex, Thames Valley, City of London and Hertfordshire.
MSC officers receive no payment for duties they perform. However, they can claim travelling and subsistence expenses as well as an allowance for footwear. They are also afforded free travel both on/off duty on the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway and on London Buses on production of their Warrant Card.[2] Specials must undertake a minimum of 200 hours of operational duties every year; this equates to four hours every week. Many specials do more hours than this basic requirement.
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[edit] Numbers and distribution
Every borough including the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit has a contingent of Special Constables, which tend to be led by a number of Special Sergeants and one or more Special Inspectors. Some boroughs have as many as 150 Special Constables, whereas some have fewer than ten. Special constables support BOCU with their Policing policies. The MSC is a local resource that supports local policing plans and priorities to reduce local crime. Special Constables perform duties such as working on Safer Neighbourhood Teams.
There are a number of Specials who are sponsored by their employers on the Employer Supported Policing scheme[3] where Employers release their employees for eight hours every fortnight to perform MSC duties. ESP includes: BusBeat,[4] Shop Watch,[5] BoroughBeat, CampusWatch and ArtBeat.
ArtBeat is component of the Art and Antiques Unit, part of the Specialist Crime Directorate where a number of specialist Specials are being recruited to provide expertise in niche areas.
Special Constables have the freedom to choose what borough they work in, their duties and their hours. Although they are encouraged to work in one of the Borough's Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT), they are also given to the opportunity to work on response teams, and there are some who are attached to the MSC Operational Support Unit, which is tasked with providing high-visibility policing and public order patrols across the Metropolitan Police District, normally on Friday and Saturday nights. There are also a small number of Special Constables who are part of Central Operations (CO) specialist units such as the Marine Support Unit, Heathrow Airport OCU and the MSC Traffic OCU.[6]
[edit] Recruitment
Special constables undergo a structured recruitment process from application to the offer of an appointment. There are two main stages in the selection of Special Constables called Day One and Day Two. After an initial assessment of a Specials application, suitable candidates are invited to attend the Selection Centre at Hendon Police College.
Day One: This involves a written exam, an interview and two interactive role plays. Throughout Day One, the following qualities competencies are assessed: decision making, communication, personal responsibility, resilience, respect for diversity, customer focus and teamwork.
Day Two: Candidates who are successful at Day One are invited back to the Selection Centre to undertake Day Two. This involves a Job Related Fitness Test including a Beep Test and Strength Test. Candidates also have a Full Medical examination which is conducted by a registered Nurse who checks various aspects of a candidate’s health, including eyesight and hearing.
Security and Vetting: If a candidate is successful at both stages of selection, they have to pass security and vetting which can take anything from a few weeks to up to a year. If security and vetting checks prove satisfactory, a candidate is offered a place on an MSC training course, see below.
[edit] Training and equipment
The MSC Foundation Training course[7] consists of approximately thirteen days of classroom training (now including counter terrorism, and "Every Child Matters" child protection training), four days of officer safety training, and two days of first aid training, which tends to take place on one Sunday per week over the course of four months at Hendon Police College. Alternatively, an intensive course can be taken over three weeks and two days at Hendon Police College. During the course of their training special constables are issued with an identical uniform and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as their regular colleagues (Batons, Handcuffs and CS spray). However they do not wear their uniform until they have been attested. Special Constables are required to wear a small SC and a crown on their epaulettes.[8] After completing their initial training further training is provided at their local Borough and units, which continues throughout their career.
[edit] Leadership
The MSC is managed from within by a number of administratively graded special constables, with gradings as follows:
- Special Constable
- Special Sergeant (previously Sub Divisional Officer (SDO))
- Special Inspector (previously Divisional Officer (DO) or Borough Divisional Officer (BDO))
- Assistant Chief Officer*
- Deputy Chief Officer*
- Chief Officer
Share the same epaulette insignia*
The MSC is currently headed by Chief Officer Lorraine Woolley who previously was the Deputy Chief Officer of the MSC. Her predecessor was John Barradell who retired on the 16th April 2007.
