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FEATURE


SPECIAL CONSTABLES: SAME RISK, SAME REPRESENTATION


‘ Specials’ are frequently exposed to the dangers regular ofcers face but have traditionally been denied access to the protection and representation that Police Federation membership ofers. That is changing thanks to new legislation. STEVE BAX reports


L


ike all Specials, Chris Burns leads a double life. By day he is a software engineer for Ordnance Survey and in his spare time he’s a sergeant in the Hampshire Special Constabulary – an organisation he joined 11 years ago, aged 22. Chris volunteers about 40 hours each


month but has previously contributed in excess of 1,000 hours in a single year. Why has he never taken the plunge and become a regular? He explains: “The two jobs give me different things. As an engineer, I build maps that allow the emergency services to get to places. That’s rewarding but it’s not as hands-on as knowing that I’ve made a difference to someone’s life. My day job has become more demanding over the years as I’ve become more senior, but I’ve realised that I cannot easily walk away from policing. So much of my social circle is wrapped up in the police and it’s become an integral part of who I am.” Chris is looking forward to having the opportunity of joining the Police Federation as soon as legislation is passed this year to make that possible. He is in a position where he can afford the monthly subscription but thinks on principle that the Home Office or his Police and Crime Commissioner should pick up the cost rather than a volunteer – a position shared by PFEW.


He adds: “A lot of Specials are on


minimum wage or students, and the fees are not a small outlay. That would reduce the diversity of the people who volunteer.”


FEDERATION SUPPORT Chris has twice been under investigation. The first time was when he accompanied a regular officer to a woman’s home to investigate an assault. “In the space of 30 seconds it went from us asking her name to her flipping over a table, her son pulling a


26 | POLICE | FEBRUARY 2021 Karlee Gwynne


Jennie Caukwell


knife, a dog biting an officer and a complete and utter melee,” says Chris. The family made a complaint against the officers and Professional Standards were involved. Thankfully the Federation supported Chris because his colleague was a regular officer. Another time he got caught up in an 18 month-long misconduct investigation involving the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Speaking about those difficult months, he recalls: “My sleep suffered and so did my day job. I even had to take annual leave to attend a misconduct meeting. The Federation helped me articulate my side of the story and present it in a way that helped other people understand what happened.” Specials who join the Federation will


enjoy peace of mind legally, says Chris, and is an opportunity to enhance the way the Constabulary is viewed across the service: “It’s an opportunity for Specials to be taken more seriously and having the support to go further.”


POSITIVE EXPERIENCES Karlee Gwynne is an office manager for a school. She’s a busy mum of three and a Special for Bedfordshire Police. “Volunteering with the police is my passion and something I wanted to do for me,” she says.


She finished her training in November


2020 and has completed around a dozen duties so far, mostly night shifts. “Normally a lot of time would be spent on the high street with people coming out of pubs and clubs. During the pandemic, the jobs have mainly been domestics. I went from assisting a woman who was having her home broken into, to the next job which was chasing an escaped sheep around for two hours to stop it getting into the traffic!” The convenience of being able to work her own hours appeals to Karlee. She also had nothing but positive experiences working alongside regulars. “Some people tell you that regulars don’t like going out with Specials, but I haven’t experienced that,” she says. “I think it’s how you build a rapport with the regular you’re with, and sussing out how they like to work.” Karlee sees the legal protection as


the main benefit of joining the Federation.


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