Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis spent time with Special Constables in the Staffordshire Moorlands on Friday (13 June).
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Moorlands Special Constabulary, held at Leek Police Station, outlined the unit’s progress over the last 12 months.
Mr Ellis spoke about the new approach the Special Constabulary will adopt to improve the service even further – including longer and more comprehensive training for existing and new Specials.
They’ll have better equipment, more chances to widen the policing activities they are involved with and there’s also an ambition for their work as Specials to add value to their opportunities of career progression externally.
Mr Ellis said: “Special Constables make a massive contribution to society and provide a crucial additional link between the police and local communities.
“Today’s meeting has been a great chance to speak with these unique individuals who regularly volunteer on the frontline. Feedback has been positive, with many praising the introduction of new technology, such as the bodycams, which they say is helping make their roles easier.”
The new approach is aimed at developing the Special Constabulary further and is believed to be the most ambitious in the country, strongly underpinning even better their role in supporting full-time regular police officers in Staffordshire.
Some Specials are also, for the first time, being trained in more specialist roles in wildlife policing, licensing, Integrated Offender Management, roads policing, public order, intelligence and as detectives.
There are currently over 400 Specials in Staffordshire. For more details on joining, visit www.StaffsSpecials.org
