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Special Constabulary

The Special Constabulary is a force of trained volunteer police officers who support their regular police colleagues. Every police force in the country has its own special constabulary.

• Thames Valley Police Special Constabulary is made up of more than 300 volunteer police officers (as of January 2009).
• There are six grades of volunteer police officer in Thames Valley Police: special constable, special sergeant, special inspector, special chief inspector, Assistant Chief Officer, Chief Officer (Head of the Special Constabulary).
• According to Home Office statistics, volunteer police officers provide £10 of policing for every £1 spent on the Special Constabulary.

History of the Special Constabulary

The idea of investing members of the public with special powers to give unpaid assistance in enforcing the law can be traced back to at least the thirteenth century. Over the centuries, the purpose of the role has varied considerably.

By the early nineteenth century, most local policing was carried out by parish and petty constables who were elected and unsalaried. From the mid-eighteenth century, ‘specials’ (special constables) were deployed to assist these officers.

Full-time paid police officers were a major innovation of the nineteenth century. However, after 1829, despite the spread of uniformed and professional bodies of paid officers, members of the public were still relied on to help in emergencies.

The first quarter of the twentieth century saw the development of special constabularies as bodies of permanent trained reserves.

By the early 1930s, organised practical training for specials was encouraged. Specials were starting to be attached to police areas for use in ordinary police duties.