Appeal for older joiners to Special Constabulary to combat shortage

Recruitment drive for role, which has no upper age limit, comes after sharp fall in volunteer numbers

Crime editor

MIDDLE-AGED people have been urged to sign up to the Special Constabulary amid warnings the system of police volunteering is in crisis.

Special constables have been an integral part of British policing for more than 200 years helping to support their full-time warranted colleagues on the front line. In recent years, the number of volunteers has plummeted, especially among the young, leading to fears some forces might scrap the role altogether. Now there are growing calls for older people, with a broader range of skills and experience to step in and fill the gaps. Volunteering as a special was traditionally regarded as a pathway for those who wanted to pursue a career in the regular force and was mainly made up of men and women in their early and mid 20s. But the success of the police uplift programme, which led to 20,000 new officers being recruited, meant most candidates were accepted into the regular service without the need to earn their spurs as a special.

There are now fewer than 7,000 special constables across the 43 forces in England and Wales, the lowest in 50 years. Specials have to complete 16 hours of service a month and wield the same powers as a regular officer. While the role is unpaid, specials are extensively trained and entitled to other benefits. There is no upper age limit. Penny Lancaster, 52, the wife of Sir Rod Stewart, joined the Special Constabulary in 2021 and was on duty during the King’s Coronation last year.

CJ Marshall, Special Assistant Chief Officer with the Metropolitan Special Constabulary, said given the recruitment crisis, policing must stop viewing specials as “overtime stealers” and “hobby bobbies” and embrace the value older volunteers can offer. In a paper for the Police Foundation think tank, he said more mature specials brought different motivations and experiences to the role, beyond looking for a “stepping stone” into the regular service.

His co-author, Dr Iain Britton, said: “You can make a huge amount of difference. Most of the volunteer officers I have talked to have been involved in preventing something terrible happening. Or have perhaps even saved someone’s life ... It keeps people active. It gets you dealing with people and it is a bit of real life.”

Penny Lancaster, the wife of Sir Rod Stewart, became a special constable in 2021 and was on duty during the King’s Coronation