Commentary
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6203500602 |
| Date | 01 November 1962 |
| Published date | 01 November 1962 |
| Subject Matter | Commentary |
Commentary
THE SPECIAL CONSTABULARY
Recent announcements in national and provincial newspapers that
the Civil Defence Corps is being reorganized, and a system introduced
of
annual bounties, made to volunteers trained for civil defence
duties who are both effective and efficient, has prompted aquestion
whether similar measures should or could be applied to special
constables. Special constables in police forces in England, Wales
and Scotland are distinguished from other voluntary unpaid services
in that they are intended to be maintained in a state
of
readiness,
training and efficiency in peace
and
war. Their role is to assist the
regular police force in their principal duty
of
preserving the public
peace,
and"
for the protection
of
the inhabitants and the security
of
property in the police district in which, or any part
of
which, the
justices making the appointment
act"
(Special Constables Order,
1923). A special constable is not a member
of
the Civil Defence
Corps; the provisions for pensions if he is killed or injured in the
course
of
duty, and his authority, derive from the Police Acts and the
Special Constables Act, 1923.
In most police areas special constables appear to belong to one
of
two groups, but the fact that there are two is not recognized by law
or in any official doctrine, so far as we can trace. There are special
constables who regularly perform duties in uniform, having under-
gone training by way
of
lectures given by regular police officers, and
by public duties in uniform in a practical way; they have a good
working acquaintance with the local police communications system,
and
are known to enjoy the respect and confidence
of
the local
community and
of
the regular police serving in the area, in town or
countryside as the case may be, and in whose force or division,
section or detached beat
of
which they form an integral part
of
the
police reserves and resources. Special constables frequently share
with the local regular police the amenities
of
the station or police
social club, and the police authority and chief constable recognize
their value in promoting training programmes and relationships.
There is, in many areas, another group
of
special constables who
in peace-time are inactive, save for attendance at occasional lectures
on police subjects, or in rendering first aid to the injured, or in civil
defence; their readiness to turn out for duty is limited to an emer-
gency, and they are rarely seen in uniform or wearing even the
traditional armlet and badge which symbolize their authority. They
will each be in possession
of
awarrant card. The fact that volunteers
in this group rarely perform duties in peace-time does not auto-
matically imply that they are ineffective. The test
of
efficiency is
369 November-December 1962
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