Special Constable roles

Discover exciting roles and work with specialist policing teams

Unlike most other Special Constabularies, Hertfordshire offers its Special Constables the opportunity to work with specialist policing teams.

The Constabulary is always looking to give Special Constables new opportunities to work alongside specialist teams such as the Road Policing Unit, the Rural Operational Support Team - which tackles rural crime or the Public Protection Unit - where officers work to protect vulnerable people.

Further exciting attachment opportunities are becoming available for Special Constables which will see officers undertaking vital work in tackling speeding, counter terrorism, cybercrime and road crash investigations. Many more opportunities will also be introduced in the future.

Special Constables who take on these specialist roles will still need to complete the necessary introductory training to become a police officer and be considered as fit for independent patrol.

Local Response Team

All Special Constables are initially posted to work in an emergency response team and the majority stay within this role.

These are the officers that respond to 999 calls and are often first on scene to an incident. You are integrated into a team so that you build good relations with regular officer colleagues.

The role of a Special working in this team is extremely varied and often unpredictable. They can be involved in anything ranging from a Road Traffic Collision (RTC), a serious violent offence or domestic incident to dealing with a burglary or theft. Other duties include patrolling crime hotspots, dealing with anti-social behaviour and dealing with night time economy issues. These Special Constables also work with the Safer Neighbourhood Teams, which consist of PCSOs and PCs who work with the community to improve the quality of life for residents and make their area safer, by proactively tackling crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB).

Rural Team

Rural Special Constables are dedicated to the needs of rural communities and have been specially trained to have an understanding of rural issues and the countryside they serve.

They work alongside the force's Rural Operation Support Team (ROST) and local Safer Neighbourhood Teams. They can be involved in everything from investigating heritage crime, hare coursing and dealing with fly tipping, to tackling poaching and investigating wildlife offences.

Like all Specials, Rural Special Constables have full police powers, uniform and protective equipment and work alongside the regular force.

Safeguarding

Aside from ‘response policing’ there is the opportunity to take part in other diverse duties. This can range from working in the Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, the Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit and Prisoner Handling Teams.

Hertfordshire Constabulary was the first to train and develop Special Constables who have ICT skills and deploy them with specialist detectives from the Public Protection Unit to carry out risk management home visits to registered sex offenders living in the community.

Officers with ICT skills can also work alongside Cyber Crime teams to deliver online safeguarding and crime prevention advice, and these Specials have also been deployed operationally, following recent ransom ware attacks on public organisations.

Special Constables who take on these specialist roles will still need to complete all of the necessary introductory training to become a police officer and be considered as fit for independent patrol.

The opportunity to gain experience in this variety of specialist departments, at hours and dates to suit you, is uniquely available to the Special Constabulary.