Police chief praises Special Constables as Nottinghamshire Police looks to recruit more volunteers

Volunteers who work with the Special Constabulary willingly offer their time and skills to communities across Nottinghamshire not just at Christmas but all year round, Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping said today.

He said: “For them, the season of goodwill is ‘business as usual.”

“I am enormously grateful to the way they fit in a considerable number of hours every month to help make Nottinghamshire Police a force to be reckoned with.”

Currently, the force is supported by 207 Specials who, between them, clocked up 1,349 hours of duty in the first 19 days of December.

“Most of them had committed themselves to shifts that took them out on patrol as part of the neighbourhood policing teams as an add-on to their various ‘day jobs,’” Commissioner Tipping pointed out.

“That they give their time in this way to make our residents feel safer, reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and resolve local issues deserves the heartfelt thanks of all of us.”

As a whole, the Specials completed just under 60,000 hours from 1st of January to 19th of December.

Among them are five who gave between 30 and 44 hours of their time in the first three weeks of this month.

Commissioner Tipping said:“That is an astonishing contribution and I take my hat off to them,”

The five Specials are: Special Constable 5237 Towers (44.25 hours), Special Sergeant Deverill (34.25 hours), Special Sergeant Diggle (36.5 hours), Special Sergeant Ward (31.5 hours) and Special Sergeant Allen (30.5 hours).

Although Special Constables and their colleagues go unpaid, the force supports them in their careers and personal development as much as possible.

This includes leadership training and, for some, a means of gaining the experience they need to put them on their chosen path of becoming a regular officer.

Over the next two years Nottinghamshire Police aims to increase its number of Specials. Volunteers are members of the public from diverse backgrounds and from different ethnic communities, ranging from teenagers to retired people.

Information on how to join the Special Constabulary can be found on the Police website: http://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/jobs/specials