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The Special police are back in my local police force.

After years of 'Blunkett's' nanny army of useless CPO's, my local police force is having a big crackdown on anti-social behaviour and the Specials are back.

what do they do differently?

Odie;1209350 wrote: what do they do differently?


They are Volunteers.I dont know about now but many were people who for various reasons couldnt make it into the Police Force and also some were just people who wanted to have abit of power away from their normal boring job....also they never got paid then but I think they do now.

Carolly;1209354 wrote: They are Volunteers.I dont know about now but many were people who for various reasons couldnt make it into the Police Force and also some were just people who wanted to have abit of power away from their normal boring job....also they never got paid then but I think they do now.
The one's i spoke to friday night had clocked on at 10 am and were on until 01 am. They said they got no pay.

Odie...... The huge difference with the Specials is that they are volunteers. They have no power of arrest but if they call for back up, it arrives very quickly. The force used to have many of them but they were replaced by CPSO (Community support officers) who frankly, did very little for man nor beast. All police work to targets in this country but Specials don't. It means that (in my eyes) they can do real policing and preventing crime before it happens rather than the cops just turning up when it's too late to arrest some-one for their targets.

oscar;1209362 wrote: The one's i spoke to friday night had clocked on at 10 am and were on until 01 am. They said they got no pay.

Odie...... The huge difference with the Specials is that they are volunteers. They have no power of arrest but if they call for back up, it arrives very quickly. The force used to have many of them but they were replaced by CPSO (Community support officers) who frankly, did very little for man nor beast. All police work to targets in this country but Specials don't. It means that (in my eyes) they can do real policing and preventing crime before it happens rather than the cops just turning up when it's too late to arrest some-one for their targets.My Chris 's son is a policeman.....have to say they dont like the Specials.

carolly;1209365 wrote: my chris 's son is a policeman.....have to say they dont like the specials. why?? :-3:-3:-2

oscar;1209368 wrote: why?? :-3:-3:-2Dunno:-3 I didnt ask but presume because they dont regard them as one of them.:-2

Carolly;1209374 wrote: Dunno:-3 I didnt ask but presume because they dont regard them as one of them.:-2 oooooo eeerrrrrrrrrr I didn't know that :-2:-2

oscar;1209377 wrote: oooooo eeerrrrrrrrrr I didn't know that :-2:-2Maybe some do but his son and his mates dont is all I can tell you.

Carolly;1209379 wrote: Maybe some do but his son and his mates dont is all I can tell you. How do they feel about CPO's then cos they have no power of arrest either?

oscar;1209362 wrote: The one's i spoke to friday night had clocked on at 10 am and were on until 01 am. They said they got no pay.

Odie...... The huge difference with the Specials is that they are volunteers. They have no power of arrest but if they call for back up, it arrives very quickly. The force used to have many of them but they were replaced by CPSO (Community support officers) who frankly, did very little for man nor beast. All police work to targets in this country but Specials don't. It means that (in my eyes) they can do real policing and preventing crime before it happens rather than the cops just turning up when it's too late to arrest some-one for their targets.


now I understand as we have the army that helps us here, but they are not volunteers and really don't do much of anything.



I am really happy and excited you have these people who willingly volunteer to make lives better and safer for you!



hats off!:guitarist:guitarist:guitarist

Volunteers are always good Oscar.



We have a group of volunteers here that patrol our streets in the States, and I know that they have chapters in England and many other European countries....



Their name is "The Guardian Angels" and their founder is Curtis Sliwa. He's a good guy but very wacky.He's also a radio talk show host, and I've been listening to him on the radio for 20 yrs. Don't think he sleeps:wah:



Curtis Sliwa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They sound like vigilantes. :-3

oscar;1209362 wrote: Specials (..) have no power of arrest


Oh yes they do.

oscar;1209381 wrote: CPO's (..) have no power of arrest either?


Oh yes they do.

Bill Sikes;1209486 wrote: Oh yes they do. You can say that again :yh_rotfl

Bill Sikes;1209486 wrote: Oh yes they do. Why did the useless bunch we had never arrest anyone then. I've seen the yobs laughing in their faces and even spitting on them and they did nothing, not even called for back up. It was (in my opinion) one of the reasons why the vandalism at my War Memorial went on for so many years. They were being sent out and all i ever saw them do was tip the yobs alcohol down the drain.

hoppy;1209443 wrote: They sound like vigilantes. :-3
:wah: No..... they are quite legal.

Kathy Ellen;1209415 wrote: Volunteers are always good Oscar.



We have a group of volunteers here that patrol our streets in the States, and I know that they have chapters in England and many other European countries....



Their name is "The Guardian Angels" and their founder is Curtis Sliwa. He's a good guy but very wacky.He's also a radio talk show host, and I've been listening to him on the radio for 20 yrs. Don't think he sleeps:wah:



Curtis Sliwa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That's very interesting Kathy. This country could so with something like this. Our police are dangerously under-manned and under-funded.

oscar;1209503 wrote: Why did the useless bunch we had never arrest anyone then.


Try asking them.

Bill Sikes;1209527 wrote: Try asking them. I have. I am the Chair on my residents action group. We have monthly police/resident meetings and half of it is a question and answer sugery.

oscar;1209530 wrote: I am the Chair on my residents action group.


Then you ought to be better informed.

Bill Sikes;1209552 wrote: Then you ought to be better informed. I am:

Do Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) have the power of arrest? - Yahoo! Answers

Carolly;1209354 wrote: They are Volunteers.I dont know about now but many were people who for various reasons couldnt make it into the Police Force and also some were just people who wanted to have abit of power away from their normal boring job....also they never got paid then but I think they do now.


oscar;1209362 wrote: The one's i spoke to friday night had clocked on at 10 am and were on until 01 am. They said they got no pay.



Odie...... The huge difference with the Specials is that they are volunteers. They have no power of arrest but if they call for back up, it arrives very quickly. The force used to have many of them but they were replaced by CPSO (Community support officers) who frankly, did very little for man nor beast. All police work to targets in this country but Specials don't. It means that (in my eyes) they can do real policing and preventing crime before it happens rather than the cops just turning up when it's too late to arrest some-one for their targets.


Carolly;1209365 wrote: My Chris 's son is a policeman.....have to say they dont like the Specials.


Just a few comments!



Specials are volunteers, that is correct, they do not get paid other than a mileage allowance to cover their expenses from getting to and from the Station.



I was a Special for 15 years. I didn't do it because I couldn't get into the regular force, I never wanted to do it full time. I didn't do it because it gave me some power - I did it because I enjoyed it, because it was completely different to my day job, because I got to see a different side of life and because it's addictive!! There are lots of reasons that people join, some to try the job before they join up full time, some to give something back to the community, some I admit do it for the power but they don't usually last long.



Specials have exactly the same powers as Regular Officers, including the power of arrest on suspicion. All citizens have a power of arrest if they witness a crime and that is the power that PCSO's have, it is ONLY full time Police Officers and Specials that can arrest on suspicion of a crime being committed.



I left the Specials a few years ago but when I left Specials were allowed to patrol in cars, we had the same equipment and training as the regulars and could be (and frequently were due to lack of manpower) detailed to deal with any crime/incident. The training available to Specials was increasing all the time, to the point that when I left some forces were talking of allowing Specials to do pursuit training.



I worked in a fairly rural/small town area and the team of Specials that we had were a very committed and dedicated bunch who put in a lot of hours. We were liked and appreciated by the Regular force who were grateful that we would take on some of the more mundane duties and freeing their time for their other work (mainly paperwork!).



I am aware that some officers don't like Specials but a lot of that is down to a bad experience and gossip. I didn't like the full time paid officer who stood by whilst I was assaulted by a prisoner - he was a uniform carrier waiting to get his pension, I wouldn't work with him again and his Sargeant backed me up and never asked me to.



At one time I held the equivalent rank of Inspector and managed a team of 40 - 50 Specials. We were used for lots of events such as Carnivals (our local Carnivals are big events requiring a lot of policing and frequently public order incidents were an issue) and we were often drafted in to make up numbers for football matches, New Year's celebrations, drugs raids, raves, anything really that needed extra help.



You name it Specials did it! We got injured in fights, we dealt with sudden deaths, we went to fatal accidents, fires, fights and on one memorable occasion we were fighting along side the regular officers at a riot in my town! I've climbed over fences to look for burglers, I've rounded up cattle, I've comforted the victims of sexual assault and been injured in fights on numerous occasions - all part of the experience.



A lot of Specials became PCSO's which is why the numbers dropped drastically. My local station now has 4, it's a shame but it was inevitable when Blunkett's Bobbies were introduced.

Imladris;1209564 wrote: Just a few comments!



Specials are volunteers, that is correct, they do not get paid other than a mileage allowance to cover their expenses from getting to and from the Station.



I was a Special for 15 years. I didn't do it because I couldn't get into the regular force, I never wanted to do it full time. I didn't do it because it gave me some power - I did it because I enjoyed it, because it was completely different to my day job, because I got to see a different side of life and because it's addictive!! There are lots of reasons that people join, some to try the job before they join up full time, some to give something back to the community, some I admit do it for the power but they don't usually last long.



Specials have exactly the same powers as Regular Officers, including the power of arrest on suspicion. All citizens have a power of arrest if they witness a crime and that is the power that PCSO's have, it is ONLY full time Police Officers and Specials that can arrest on suspicion of a crime being committed.



I left the Specials a few years ago but when I left Specials were allowed to patrol in cars, we had the same equipment and training as the regulars and could be (and frequently were due to lack of manpower) detailed to deal with any crime/incident. The training available to Specials was increasing all the time, to the point that when I left some forces were talking of allowing Specials to do pursuit training.



I worked in a fairly rural/small town area and the team of Specials that we had were a very committed and dedicated bunch who put in a lot of hours. We were liked and appreciated by the Regular force who were grateful that we would take on some of the more mundane duties and freeing their time for their other work (mainly paperwork!).



I am aware that some officers don't like Specials but a lot of that is down to a bad experience and gossip. I didn't like the full time paid officer who stood by whilst I was assaulted by a prisoner - he was a uniform carrier waiting to get his pension, I wouldn't work with him again and his Sargeant backed me up and never asked me to.



At one time I held the equivalent rank of Inspector and managed a team of 40 - 50 Specials. We were used for lots of events such as Carnivals (our local Carnivals are big events requiring a lot of policing and frequently public order incidents were an issue) and we were often drafted in to make up numbers for football matches, New Year's celebrations, drugs raids, raves, anything really that needed extra help.



You name it Specials did it! We got injured in fights, we dealt with sudden deaths, we went to fatal accidents, fires, fights and on one memorable occasion we were fighting along side the regular officers at a riot in my town! I've climbed over fences to look for burglers, I've rounded up cattle, I've comforted the victims of sexual assault and been injured in fights on numerous occasions - all part of the experience.



A lot of Specials became PCSO's which is why the numbers dropped drastically. My local station now has 4, it's a shame but it was inevitable when Blunkett's Bobbies were introduced. Interesting reading Immy. Yes, i was over joyed that my local force has replaced CSO's with Specials.

We have had a growing problem with anti-social behaviour in our village. It's a vicious circle that i've talked at lenght with to a senior officer. We had a very long chat about how we can get more residents to call the police as without more calls, they can not get a dispersal order to break up these large crowds of drunken kids.

that descend on the village. The residents fear reprisals so much that they don't want to be seen calling the police and without those calls, no dispersal order.

The past two weekends when i have looked after the take-away, we have had to have the police out and i'm actually dreading going in tonight and facing it all again. I know exactly how many units are on of a night in this county and our police are dangerously under-funded. In the past, it has taken up to three hours to get a diss-interested unit out. As you know, calls are graded and anti-social behaviour and petty vandalism is grade C. That's why the vandalism on my war memorial went on for so long. I can understand that and i don't have a problem with the fact that the police are needed on more serious crime. My arguement is that because there are not enough police units available to respond immediately to these drunken youths, they grow up believing they are bomb proof and their petty crime just becomes worse and worse. I'm of the opinion that if they cracked down hard in the first instance and fined the parents if their kid is roaming the street drunk causing folk misery, it would stop it escalating. In all the arguements i have had with the police over this over the years, they blame lack of man-power.

Last weekend i had to call the police again and expected a car in about three hours time but a van turned up with 6 Specials in it immediately. Apparently the anti-social behaviour and yob culture has become so bad in our area that they have realised the CSO's are useless and replaced them with Specials in a special anti-social behaviour unit. I was over joyed.

oscar;1209561 wrote: I am:

Do Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) have the power of arrest? - Yahoo! Answers


So do you still deny that PCSOs have any powers of arrest, or are you admitting you were wrong?

Bill Sikes;1209591 wrote: So do you still deny that PCSOs have any powers of arrest, or are you admitting you were wrong?
They can make a citizens arrest.

oscar;1209580 wrote: Interesting reading Immy. Yes, i was over joyed that my local force has replaced CSO's with Specials.

We have had a growing problem with anti-social behaviour in our village. It's a vicious circle that i've talked at lenght with to a senior officer. We had a very long chat about how we can get more residents to call the police as without more calls, they can not get a dispersal order to break up these large crowds of drunken kids.

that descend on the village. The residents fear reprisals so much that they don't want to be seen calling the police and without those calls, no dispersal order.

The past two weekends when i have looked after the take-away, we have had to have the police out and i'm actually dreading going in tonight and facing it all again. I know exactly how many units are on of a night in this county and our police are dangerously under-funded. In the past, it has taken up to three hours to get a diss-interested unit out. As you know, calls are graded and anti-social behaviour and petty vandalism is grade C. That's why the vandalism on my war memorial went on for so long. I can understand that and i don't have a problem with the fact that the police are needed on more serious crime. My arguement is that because there are not enough police units available to respond immediately to these drunken youths, they grow up believing they are bomb proof and their petty crime just becomes worse and worse. I'm of the opinion that if they cracked down hard in the first instance and fined the parents if their kid is roaming the street drunk causing folk misery, it would stop it escalating. In all the arguements i have had with the police over this over the years, they blame lack of man-power.

Last weekend i had to call the police again and expected a car in about three hours time but a van turned up with 6 Specials in it immediately. Apparently the anti-social behaviour and yob culture has become so bad in our area that they have realised the CSO's are useless and replaced them with Specials in a special anti-social behaviour unit. I was over joyed.


I am against the principal of PCSO's because I feel that it deceives the public into believing that they have more police officers than they really do. You can't tell the difference at a distance.



However, our local C3PO's as they are known, are two good blokes who put a lot of time and effort into getting to know the community and especially the young people. It's just unfortunate that a certain element of youth know that they have no power and take advantage of it.



When I joined the Specials our uniform had Special all over it so we became an easy target and were frequently told that we couldn't do anything as we were 'just' a Special, the constant mickey taking got a bit wearing after a while but they were careful not to go too far and get nicked! Once we were only identified by a different number (ours started with 7) on our shoulder and nothing else, the job got easier to do, we had less aggro from the youth and the drunks and when we turned up to a job we just got on with it as the public expected us to do - they didn't care if we got paid or not they just wanted our help!

Imladris;1209564 wrote: All citizens have a power of arrest if they witness a crime and that is the power that PCSO's have, it is ONLY full time Police Officers and Specials that can arrest on suspicion of a crime being committed.


This is a somewhat grey area. If an offence has been committed, and one has a reasonable suspicion that someone did it, they can be arrested. This does not make what you've said untrue, though!

Imladris;1209607 wrote: I am against the principal of PCSO's because I feel that it deceives the public into believing that they have more police officers than they really do. You can't tell the difference at a distance.



However, our local C3PO's as they are known, are two good blokes who put a lot of time and effort into getting to know the community and especially the young people. It's just unfortunate that a certain element of youth know that they have no power and take advantage of it.



When I joined the Specials our uniform had Special all over it so we became an easy target and were frequently told that we couldn't do anything as we were 'just' a Special, the constant mickey taking got a bit wearing after a while but they were careful not to go too far and get nicked! Once we were only identified by a different number (ours started with 7) on our shoulder and nothing else, the job got easier to do, we had less aggro from the youth and the drunks and when we turned up to a job we just got on with it as the public expected us to do - they didn't care if we got paid or not they just wanted our help! Yes, i can fully identify with this. Especially the problems at the War memorial. We were seeing drunken kids laughing in the faces of CSO's and even spitting on them. They could spot them a mile off from a real officer and would even carry on with the vandalism right under their nose.

When these 6 Specials got out of the van last weekend, i thought they were 'real' officers and so did the yobs :wah: I've never seen them scuttle so quick. Fantastic stuff. I'm so pleased because it does free up officers in the county.

Some weeks ago we had a large group of yobs causing misery ouside our house to us all and finally this exasperated officer sreamed into our lane with the two's and blue's flashing and said to them 'Right get the **** out of here. He phoned recently to see if we's had any more problems with them and we had quite a chat about how pissed off officers are with these kids taking up their time. The Specials are very welcome in my eyes. :-6:-6

Bill Sikes;1209608 wrote: This is a somewhat grey area. If an offence has been committed, and one has a reasonable suspicion that someone did it, they can be arrested. This does not make what you've said untrue, though!


I was rather simplifying it! but thanks for agreeing!!! :wah::driving: