GUEST COLUMN
issue of POLICE drew attention to PFEW’s collaboration with a Channel 4 investigation of the sombre issue of suicide. It revealed the horrifying statistic of over 100 serving and former officers, plus staff and ex-police staff who have lost their lives to suicide in little over a three-year period from January 2022. Sadly, these numbers are now even higher and although the numbers are devastating enough it’s also thought that during a police officer’s career, they may experience between 400-600 traumatic incidents. Each one potentially damaging to an officer’s mental health or wellbeing. Furthermore, the UK government has entered the middle phase of its term in office as attention is held by significant apprehension of how its White Paper on policing will affect rank-and-file officers, or even more so on the recruitment and training of a larger contingent of regular and volunteer special constables.
WHERE TO BEGIN? Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge advocate for Community Intelligence- Led Policing Methodology. I devised
CILPM to address a gap in intelligence provision across front-line services. It is an additional resource, and I don’t think anyone should underestimate the fact that SCs have a profound effect on capturing this ‘policing purpose’ data. Why is this? I’d say because the Special Constabulary sits within the environment of mainstream policing, yet its officers are volunteers only as part of their professional and civic lives. Yes, they may be ‘copies’ of their salaried counterparts but they also bring another dynamic to policing strategy. In wider context, it is intended that the Special Constabulary is inextricably linked within policing practice and not an understatement of it. The relevance of community
intelligence has an added ingredient for SCs: that of their ‘daytime’ profession. The negative as well as the positive experiences and opinions, views and thoughts, expectations and feelings that they are exposed to in the course of their everyday employment is empowerment. This opportunity to experience first-hand ‘what people are saying’ borders on access to research-level project material.
That’s just another reason why the Special Constabulary is exceptionally placed, its officers have unique relationships in their communities, it enables them to oppose indifference or confront localised anti-social behaviour. The list goes on!
I shall leave the final word to Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley as quoted in The Telegraph on 12 December 2025 (
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/ fd1b7df3f682b444) describing his officers in London: “They will bend themselves out of shape. They’ll put themselves at risk, they’ll stretch themselves, they’ll stress themselves. Because what really matters? Because it’s about the safety of communities and enabling communities to be able to thrive. And that’s a real privilege to be a part of,” he said. “I get kicked around and all the rest of it. But when you talk to amazing frontline people, they drip with passion and caring about it, and that’s really exciting, and that gets you through all the noise and all the contentious times.” I might also be as bold as to add to Sir Mark’s words: “Special Constables do this and more; voluntarily.”
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34 | POLICE | FEBRUARY | 2026
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