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Devon & Cornwall Police<br/>Special Constables why join

Why join?

People join the Special Constabulary as a volunteer police officer for many different reasons. Some want to develop their skills and life experiences, others want to give something back to their community, and some people are looking for a challenge outside of their day-to-day life.
Becoming a volunteer police officer opens up a world of opportunity for professional and personal development. Undergoing the training and then performing the role of a police officer is challenging and rewarding and provides a welcome break from day-to-day life.
Although you won't be paid, your training and duties will give you unique experiences, new and valuable skills, plus a tremendous sense of achievement of doing something worthwhile for your community. We pay expenses so you will not be out of pocket for giving your time to us.

Benefits of becoming a Special Constable

You will find the work of a volunteer police officer varied, interesting and at times, exciting. But above all you will have the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping to reduce crime, disorder and fear in Devon, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly.

  • Gaining confidence
  • Developing teamwork and problem-solving skills
  • Learning and development opportunities that would bring a competitive advantage in the employment market
  • Widening your life experiences
  • Forming lasting friendships
  • Keeping the people and communities of Devon, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly safe

Training

All Special Constables will undertake the National Initial Learning for Special Constables (IL4SC) programme. It provides Special Constables with the appropriate knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes and behaviors to perform operational duties to ensure you are safe and lawful when you hit the streets.

What does training consist of?

 
Phase 1
This is open learning (self-study). During this phase of the training you will be provided with an iPad in order to undertake your open learning. This will allow student officers to undertake the knowledge aspect of their training at home and will include webinars, tutorials, i-books and various other methods of learning at a time and place convenient to you. Once completed, you will move on to phase 2.
Phase 2
This is classroom based and comprises of 13 units covering all aspects of Police work including: Arrests, personal safety, first aid, stop and search and diversity. These units will be held on the weekend (subject to public holidays) over a 17 week period and consist of practical applications of what you have learnt via the open learning phase. Practical competency will be assessed during the scenario weekends of this phase.

Successful completion will be required prior to attestation, this is where you swear an oath in front of the magistrate. The final unit of phase two training will include attestation by a magistrate, after which a trainee Special Constable will become a warranted officer.
Phase 3
This is the tutor phase where a Special Constable will be mentored by a regular police officer or experienced Special Constable on duty and will be given the opportunity to evidence their policing skills by the completion of a Police Action Checklist 1 (PAC1).

This checklist covers a broad range of basic Policing tasks and is usually completed within six months from the end of phase 2. It is a mandatory requirement that a Special Constable will work for 16 hours minimum per month. Once the tutored phase is complete a Special Constable will be considered safe and lawful for Accompanied Patrol (PAC1).
Phase 4
This is the operational phase and during this period Special Constables are able to patrol with another Special Constable or Police Officer in order to achieve competency in a number of areas of Police work by completed Police Action Checklist 2 (PAC2).

Completion of PAC 1 is mandatory

Continuous Professional Development
Any new Force approved training that is identified as being applicable for Special Constables will be rolled out either as classroom based training (evenings and weekends), via e-learning or by webinar (an online seminar). It is the officer’s responsibility to make sure that they are up to date with all their mandatory training otherwise they will be designated as non-operational until such time that the training has been completed. The training never stops!
 

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