Becoming a Special Constable
What are Special Constables?
Special constables are volunteer police officers who give their spare time to help the police. This volunteer role gives you the chance to work alongside regular police officers, bring your life skills and experiences and give something back to this beautiful part of the world.
Are you an honest, respectful, selfless and motivated person who wants to do something worthwhile in your spare time? Could you be there in someone’s time of need? Are you prepared to make a difference to people’s lives and protect the most vulnerable in our neighbourhoods?
What does a Special Constable do?
Volunteering as a special constable is one of the most personally rewarding, challenging and diverse things that you can do in your spare time. Working alongside regular officers and PCSOs, it’s a vital and important role which offers a great sense of pride.
You will be involved in all aspects of policing, enjoying a variety of roles and carrying out duties such as:
- Acting on emergency calls
- Investigating reported crimes
- Apprehending, arresting and interviewing suspects
- Collecting evidence at crime scenes
- Dealing with accidents and incidents
- Supporting victims and protecting the vulnerable
- Engaging with children and young people to help change perceptions of the police
- Working with emergency service colleagues from Ambulance, Fire and Rescue
- Responding to reports of anti-social behaviour
- Being a visible presence at large scale public events
A workforce that reflects our communities
Our ability to build trust, understand problems and support our communities across a range of policing matters, relies on us having a workforce that is reflective of our communities and all the unique individuals that exist within them. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity within our workforce and to eliminating discrimination.
We are very keen to encourage applications from those that have never considered policing as a career. Representation within our workforce from black and minority ethnic communities and females is currently much lower than we want it to be; by improving this we will be better able to serve our local communities and our work place will benefit from all the differences in thinking, points of view, and approaches that diversity brings.
In order to achieve this we are proud to pursue a policy of ‘positive action’.
For further information and to register for this scheme please click the button below.
Our current recruitment timeline
We are currently closed for recruitment.
Please note that we cannot progress applications for Special Constables and Police Officers simultaneously. Please go to our FAQ’s for more information about this process.
In order to progress to the next stage you must pass the BSQ. At the end of this questionnaire you will be advised of the result and provided with a feedback report.
You will be presented with a number of different situations that you may face as a Special Constable with a choice of different actions that might be taken.
You will be asked to identify which action will result in an effective or counterproductive outcome.
You will be provided with a feedback report and if you are successful, you will be invited to complete an application form.
The interviews are scheduled to take place on Saturday, 6th March and Sunday, 7th March 2021. Please note the second date is dependent the number of candidates.
If you are unable to attend the interview date please contact the recruitment team and do not let this deter you from applying as we will do our best to try and arrange an date for you.
For further information and how to prepare for the fitness test please see the Job Related Fitness Information Guide.
We will carry out security checks on you and your:
- Spouse/Partner
- Father
- Step father/mother’s partner
- Mother
- Stepmother/father’s partner
- Brothers/sisters (full/half/step)
- Children/children of your partner (only those age 10 years and over)
- Any other adult living at your address
- Financial circumstances – applicants will have their financial status checked
These checks are carried out because Special Constables have access to privileged information, which may make them vulnerable to corruption.
Applicants with outstanding County Court Judgements (CCJs), Individual Voluntary Agreements (IVAs) or who have been registered bankrupt with outstanding debts, will be rejected. If you have discharged bankruptcy debts then you will need to provide a Certificate of Satisfaction with your application. At least three years will need to have passed since the date of discharge.
Applicants with cautions/convictions/reprimands, other than some motoring offences, may not be accepted.
References – We send reference requests to all your previous employers in the last 3 years. If you haven’t been employed for 3 years, we will ask for a character reference or an educational reference.
Drugs Testing – As part of the Vetting process you will be required to undergo drugs testing. All drug testing processes are entirely confidential and only the presence of illegal substances will be disclosed to the Force Vetting Unit (by the third party drug testing laboratory). Prescribed medication, including that for individuals with certain disabilities or individuals that may be transitioning, is not tested for in the process. This process generally takes around five weeks to complete.