Special Constables

Find out more about the voluntary role of Special Constable with Cheshire Constabulary.

Now recruiting Special Constables, join our September intake and apply now!

Interested in finding out more before applying? Register now to join us at one of our events below:

- Online Information Seminar: Wednesday 13th May, 6-7:30pm

- Immersive Experience Open Day: Sunday 17th May, 10am - 1pm

Being a Special Constable is a unique opportunity to do something special both for yourself and your community. This vital role gives you invaluable experiences and training that you can use throughout your life to achieve your personal or professional goals. As a Special Constable you will be provided with full training, a uniform, and out of pocket expenses and have all the powers and authority of regular officers.

A Special Constable in Cheshire Constabulary is someone who will be valued, supported and integrated into the wider policing family. They’re someone who will learn new skills, see new things and make tangible differences to the lives of the public they serve. A Special Constable is someone who makes new friends, sees life from new perspectives and upholds the law.

Specials get involved in lots of different aspects of policing helping to tackle anti-social behaviour, prevent crime and police events. They have the same powers as their full time, paid colleagues including power of arrest.

As a volunteer police officer, you will need to contribute at least 192 hours over the course of the year. This equates to an average of 16 hours per month or 4 hours per week, but this can be done at a time that fits into your life as policing is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You will receive high quality training to ensure you will be equipped and have all the necessary skills for the role. Training to be a Special Constable takes place across14 weekends. Please consider this when you apply.

Below is an example of the training schedule. Please note, this is for guidance only and training schedules are subject to change.

Week	Subject
Week One	Induction day
Week Two	Fundamentals and Arrest Procedure
Week Three	First Aid Training
Week Four	Statements
Week Five	Traffic/Airwave/PNC
Week Six	Stop/Search
Week Seven	Crime 1/Crime 2
Week Eight	Investigations
Week Nine	Personal Safety Training
Week Ten	Personal Safety Training
Week Eleven	Personal Safety Training
Week Twelve	Personal Safety Training
Niche Training	ICT Training
	Attestation Evening
Week 14	Assessment Day

Once independent, you can look to specialise in other roles including:

The Deployment Support Team
Enhanced Search Team
Cyber Crime Investigation Team
Proactive Licensing Team
Roads and Crime Unit

A unique challenge like no other, Conflict and Crisis Management, Leadership, Understanding the Law are some of the skills that you will be able to evidence to name but a few – Find out what you are capable of!

You will get a real feeling of achievement at having done something to help others, while supporting regular officers and contributing to your local community.

Gain a good understanding about real life in your area
Increase your circle of friends, you will meet a wide variety of people
Experience much more variety in your life – No day will ever be the same
Learn to physically defend yourself and deal with conflict
Gain confidence by overcoming fresh challenges and opportunities

Joining the Specials opens up a world of opportunities for personal and professional advancement. Undergoing the training and then going out on patrol makes a welcome break from day-to-day life, bringing excitement and challenge every day you volunteer.

Benefits:

Occupational Health Services
Sports and Social Club
On-site gym
Blue Light Card discounts with dozens of online and high street brands
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Mileage from your home address to police station, headquarters and our tactical training centre
Refreshments allowance – this is dependent on the number of hours in any given tour of duty
Medical reimbursements – if you require any eye tests, doctors’ fitness certificates or vaccinations, these expenses can be claimed back if successful in post
Full uniform provided
Special to PC route –Special Constables within our force who meet the eligibility requirements for the Special to Police Constable (PC) route may bypass the interview stage when applying for the role of Police Constable. Applicants will still be required to complete all other stages of the recruitment process. For further information, please contact the HR Talent Acquisition Team.

Employer Supported Policing (ESP) is a powerful partnership between employers and Cheshire Constabulary, helping to make Cheshire safer and improving the skills of your workforce.

How does it work?

As a supporting employer, you'll allow your staff who want to be volunteer police officers the time to be trained as Special Constables. Once trained, they will carry out patrols in the local area, with full police powers - alongside experienced police officers. Often these patrols are relevant and / or local to your organisation and industry.

In return, you'll receive a highly skilled, highly trained member of staff. They carry out their usual 'day job' at their workplace but now have the benefit of police training and experience, bringing with it a whole host of knowledge and skills.

Cheshire Constabulary provides the selection process, administration, vetting, medicals, training, equipment and uniform.

In return for the very tangible benefits you will receive, we ask for you to 'sponsor' staff who volunteer for the scheme, by giving them paid leave for some or all of the time they spend with us.

The level of commitment your organisation makes is flexible, with our partner employers supporting varying levels of time, so please talk to us about how much you can support the programme.

Transferable skills gained: