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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said that allowing Special Constables to join the Police Federation was \u201cthe right thing to do\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThis is very welcome, because you can\u2019t 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\u2019s a disparity in terms of the legal protection that they get.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect Specials to do the same job as regular colleagues when they are putting themselves on duty, so it\u2019s only right that they get the same recognition and same representation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve said that the change would benefit everyone, from the Special Constables to regular police officers, to the Federation itself.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIt\u2019s good news for regular colleagues, because everybody gets treated with the same platinum service in terms of legal protection. And it\u2019s good for the Federation because it means we can widen our horizons and make sure that we\u2019re looking after everybody.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur ultimate aim is that 100% of eligible officers, whether they\u2019re regulars or Specials, will be represented. Not having a disparity in the way that our Specials are treated compared to regulars, that\u2019s really important.\u201d<\/p>\n
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