SPECIAL BROADCAST
We go behind the scenes of filming with the BBC One Show for its feature on special constables, starring Penny Lancaster and Federation board member Dave Bamber
“Special constables aren’t a part of the Police Federation, how is that so?”, Penny Lancaster asked Federation Special Constabulary Lead Dave Bamber as the cameras rolled for the BBC One Show at Essex Police HQ. Special constables have been around for more than 200 years, but have never been represented fully and have little legal protection despite facing the same threats as regular officers. Penny understands this after going out on the streets of the City of London as a special constable for the past year. “Special aren’t a part of the Federation.
We are an organisation set up by the law and it didn’t allow specials to join back in the day,” explained Dave. “Over the past few years, we have been working really hard with the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to ensure specials are represented.” A historic milestone is about to happen.
Specials will be able to join more than 130,000 rank and file members, once the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is passed. Specials will receive support and advice
from elected workplace reps who have received full PFEW training on Police Regulations. This is part of the support package to ensure they know their rights and entitlements, so they will receive the right
A SPECIAL BROADCAST
support for any workplace issues. Specials will be able to use the expert
services of Fed reps during performance and misconduct proceedings, receive advice and legal representation, and make criminal, misconduct and civil applications for legal assistance. Membership will offer discounts on financial, health, travel, legal, home, vehicle and telecoms products and services. Having access to legal protection will give specials the opportunity to take up taser training. “Special constables need just as much
protection as regular officers when out on the streets dealing with the public and crime. What about specials having the ability to use taser?” asked Penny. “Taser is beneficial to policing, so if it’s a benefit to policing generally, it will benefit special constables to be able to have access to that training and equipment,” Dave replied. “The mere presence of Taser is proven to deescalate a situation so more force isn’t needed – but at the moment, if a special constable deployed a taser, an investigation would take place, and there would be nobody there to support them.” Dave used the BBC platform to educate the public on the important role special constables have within communities: “They are bringing skills in from the outside world which can really benefit policing - it brings
policing into the community again. We’ve got a lot of police officers who don’t live within the community they serve, whereas special constables normally do.” The number of special constables fell by 2.5 per cent between September 2020 and September 2021, partly because of a “lack of understanding” and “confusion” over the difference between specials and PCSOs, said Dave. “From a special constabulary point
of view, the law change is a really big indication of acceptance within the police family and the Federation wishes to embrace them as well.”
“It’s about public perception and being
able to educate more people for better understanding of the role. I would say, from my experience, 90 per cent of the public are unsure of the role of a special constable,” Penny agreed.
Specials have a “dangerous and difficult” role and they need support to ensure they are treated fairly and not disadvantaged and the Federation will be there to offer that support, Dave added. In 2020, special constables in the UK volunteered 3 million hours for free.
The BBC One Show special constables feature aired on 29 March. In case you missed it you can watch it again on BBC iPlayer
17 | POLICE | APRIL 2022
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