Special Constables Joining Federation is ‘Good News’

IT IS good news for everyone that Special Constables will be able to join the Federation from next year and get the same support, representation and rights as existing members, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

It is expected that 8,000-10,000 volunteer Specials will be eligible to join nationally by March 2022, as permitted by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, unless there is unexpected parliamentary intervention.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said that allowing Special Constables to join the Police Federation was “the right thing to do”.

He said: “This is very welcome, because you can’t have a situation where a regular officer and a Special Constable are involved in the same incident, putting themselves at the same risks, but there’s a disparity in terms of the legal protection that they get.

“We expect Specials to do the same job as regular colleagues when they are putting themselves on duty, so it’s only right that they get the same recognition and same representation.”

Steve said that the change would benefit everyone, from the Special Constables to regular police officers, to the Federation itself.

He said: “It’s good news for regular colleagues, because everybody gets treated with the same platinum service in terms of legal protection. And it’s good for the Federation because it means we can widen our horizons and make sure that we’re looking after everybody.

“Our ultimate aim is that 100% of eligible officers, whether they’re regulars or Specials, will be represented. Not having a disparity in the way that our Specials are treated compared to regulars, that’s really important.”