Close announcement bar
Alert
Incident
Following the flash flood in the Rasuwa district and the Nepal-China border area on 26 August, the Nepalese government has established a toll-free emergency Nepalese language number (1234), and a dedicated hotline (1144) accessible in Nepal. If you're affected and need assistance from the UK government, call:
Special Constables
1. Could you be a Special Constable?
Chris Foulkes, Special Support Officer: I like my job. I’ve got a career that I’ve built over a number of years. And I enjoy doing this and I enjoy the sense of reward and being part of the team. I find with the teams I work in, which is predominantly the neighbourhood team and other areas within the police, people are grateful for what you’re doing in Northants Police, genuinely grateful, and I’m sure regulars will get that, but I like it as a Special. I like that gratitude for the time we are giving and volunteering and I keep coming back for more.
Susie Lockwood-Taylor, Response Team Inspector and former Special Constable: So Special Constables are voluntary. They have all the powers of a police officer but it’s just on a voluntary basis. They have a minimum of hours they have to complete a month.
Chris: It’s generally one shift a week for me and those shifts are when I want to do them. Often I’ll crew in Brackley with another Special down there and we’ll quite often do the Friday evening, so we’ll come in maybe 5 or 6 o’clock at night till midnight, and at one minute past six I could be herding sheep off the A43 or at the other end of the spectrum, so absolutely I think that variation is great.
Susie: The more of us are out on the streets, the more visible we are to the community so I think that really helps.
Are you self-disciplined, organised and able to take personal responsibility? Do you have good communication and interpersonal skills? #DoSomethingSpecial with your evenings and weekends and make a positive difference in your local community by becoming a Special Constable for Northamptonshire Police.
Special Constabularies are a vital part of all Police Forces across the country, supporting and enhancing the work of regular police officers. At Northamptonshire Police, we recognise the immense value that Special Constables add.
We want people to join us, help make a difference and make our county a safer place.
&w=1024&h=681&scale=both&mode=max)
What is a Special Constable?
Special Constables are part-time, voluntary police officers with all the same powers as full-time regular police officers. They come from all walks of life and join us for a variety of reasons. Becoming a Special Constable really is one of the most exciting and rewarding voluntary opportunities available.
Special Constables work across a variety of teams and, when fully trained, can attend the same incidents and have the same powers as a police officer. Their main responsibilities include:
- building and maintaining community relationships
- developing professional relationships with colleagues, external partners, and members of the community
- attending events and operations where needed
- all the same responsibilities as a regular police officer, including paperwork, risk assessments, task delivery, and incident management
What are the benefits of being a Special Constable?
As a Special Constable, you will learn new skills, meet new people and help make a difference in your community. You will be fully trained to give you the knowledge, skills and confidence to handle even the most difficult of situations.
- Gain new skills and confidence
- Learn to work as a team with people from a variety of different backgrounds
- Experience events that are unique to policing
- Learn transferrable skills
- Support the police and make a difference in your community
Becoming a special is also a good foundation for joining the regulars. Learn more about joining as a police officer.
As a Special Constable you will be reimbursed for your mileage within Northamptonshire and for any out-of-pocket expenses.
Interested?
Applications are open now until September 13 so apply using the link below!
Meet some of our Special Constables
