The role of a Special Constable
What will I be doing as a Special Constable?
You are a police officer. You have the same powers in law as every other police officer. You wear the same uniform, you carry the same equipment and you work alongside regular officers. You work on the same operations and alongside our partners; you will focus on problem solving local priorities.
Although you will start contributing immediately there is a structured training programme to ensure you are competent and confident in performing your duties. As a volunteer police officer you will need to contribute at least 16 hours per month, but at a time that fits into your life; as policing is 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Every Special Constable's presence offers essential and much valued support to the regular officers. It is important to remember however, that Specials exist, not as a substitute for the regular police, but as an important complement to the existing force and to the local community.
The work requires real skill and determination and the training provided prepares them for all eventualities.
You will be working as part of a team and the experiences you share by working closely together can lead to lasting friendships. You will learn more about life and human nature than most people will ever see.
All Specials work towards independent patrol status, they will initially patrol with other specials or regular officers until they have proven that they can handle different situations.
Duties that you could get involved with are but not limited to:
- Spending time at local schools, educating youths about crime reduction and community safety.
- Make our communities and its people safer by supporting the regular force
- Improve public confidence and support victims by detecting and investigating crime
- Improve communication with communities by providing an important link between them
- Assist the force with many aspects of policing, from high-visibility patrols to traffic operations, counter-terrorism and community safety
- Make Cheshire a safer place by working with colleagues to bring those responsible for crime to justice, from arrest through to conviction
- Assisting at the scene of accidents, fights or fires
- Enforcing road safety initiatives
- Conducting house-to-house enquiries
- Providing security at major events
- Tackling anti-social and alcohol related incidents
For any information about the role of a Special Constable, please email us.
Specialist roles
Alongside regular patrols and duties, there are a number of wider opportunities for our Cheshire Special Constables to get involved in. These include the Deployment Support Team, Enhanced Search Team, Cyber Crime Investigation Team, Proactive Licensing team and Roads and Crime Unit.
Visit our Specialist Roles page for more information.