Metropolitan Special Constabulary


The Metropolitan Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer police force of the Metropolitan Police Service. It is one of three Special Constabularies operating within London, the others belonging to City of London Police and British Transport Police. The service was created over 180 years' ago under the Special Constables Act of 1831 and currently consists of 1,731 officers, making it the largest in the UK.
Officers have full powers and privileges of a police officer throughout England and Wales and are subject to the same standards of professional behavior as any officer would under the ambit of The Police Regulations 2012. They wear the same uniform and engage in the same work as regular police officers, including foot & vehicle patrols, attending incidents, specific operations and the policing of major events.
Special Constables are required to undertake a minimum of 200 hours of operational duties every year, spread over a minimum of 16 hours per month. However, many do more than the basic requirement.

Numbers and distribution

Each Basic Command Unit that provides policing for 2-4 London boroughs has a contingent of Special Constables supervised by a number of [|Special Sergeants], [|Special Inspectors] and a Special Chief Inspector, who work in partnership with a number of regular officers. Most Command Units have more than 100 MSC officers and Westminster, the biggest, has over 300.
Several Special Constables are sponsored by their employers' as part of the Employer Supported Policing programme, in which employers release their employees for a specific amount of time frequently to perform policing duties.
Special Constables have the freedom, to some degree, in the choice of Borough they work in, their duties and hours. The teams in which Specials work depends on their BCU - some choosing to task their Specials to Neighbourhood Policing Teams, others to their Emergency Response and Patrol Teams, whilst others work on a variety of other local portfolios such as CID, Safeguarding or with schools. Additionally, there are Special Constables who work for more specialist and non-local policing units such as the Marine Policing Unit, Heathrow Airport OCU, Organised Crime, Roads & Transport Policing Command.

Recruitment

Special constables undergo a structured recruitment process from application to the offer of an appointment. After an initial assessment of a Specials application, suitable candidates are invited to attend the Selection Centre at Empress State Building.
In 2014 the assessment process was combined into a single day. The one-day event allows the timely release of candidates that have failed any of the assessments. Throughout the day, the following qualities and competencies are assessed: decision making, communication, personal responsibility, resilience, respect for diversity, customer focus and teamwork.
The assessment day comprises:
  1. A 30-minute written assessment based on a given scenario
  2. A 20-minute competency based interview with two serving officers or lay interviewers.
  3. A Full Medical examination which is conducted by a registered Nurse who checks various aspects of a candidate's health, including eyesight and hearing
  4. A check of paperwork and copying of required documents
  5. Job Related Fitness Test
Security and Vetting: If a candidate is successful on assessment day, they have to pass security and vetting which can take anything from a few weeks to up to a year. If security and vetting checks prove satisfactory, a candidate is offered a place on an MSC training course. The candidate pass rate for the assessments is around 1 in 11.

Training and equipment

The MSC Foundation Training course consists of twenty days of training, incorporating five days of officer safety training and two days of first aid training, with the remainder being classroom-based learning covering the necessary knowledge and skills needed by officers for the execution of their duties as special constables. The training consists of two main assessments to ensure knowledge and additional assessments for Officer Safety Training and Emergency Life Support.
Delivery of the course is offered in three forms, which recruits choose according to their convenience, as an intensive course taken over four weeks, a weekend course taking place over 12 weeks with 8 weeks of both Saturday and Sunday and 4 weeks with either Saturday or Sunday. In addition to the Training School at Hendon, MSC Foundation Training is also conducted at Marlowe House in Sidcup. Following completion of the initial training, there are two continuous training weekends to be completed within the first year after attestation.
After completing their initial training, further training is provided at their local Borough and units, which continues throughout their career. MSC Officers are trained to police public order events, and resources permitting, officers can also be trained as response drivers, cyclists and other skilled roles.
During the course of their training special constables are issued with the same uniform and Personal Protective Equipment as their regular colleagues.
Once Special Constables have finished their foundation training, they take the Police Oath at an attestation ceremony at Hendon Police College. At this event, they are issued with their Warrant Card and then enjoy the full powers and privileges of a Constable throughout England and Wales.
MSC officers receive no payment for duties they perform. However, they can claim travel costs and receive a subsistence allowance. They are also afforded free travel both on/off duty on the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, London Buses the Croydon Tramlink, London Overground and TfL Rail by virtue of arrangements with Transport for London.

Supervision & Leadership

The MSC grade structure is as follows:
The current Chief Officer is John Conway.
Special Chief Inspector and Deputy Chief Officer ranks were removed in 2016, but following the change to 12 BCUs the role of Special Chief Inspector has been reinstated.
MSC ranks are not like-for-like equivalents to those of regular police ranks, meaning that and for example, a Special Sergeant not having the same legal authority as a Police Sergeant under various Acts that make reference to it. So in terms of those Acts that make reference to police officers of rank, such as Sergeant, Inspector, Superintendent, etc.; all MSC officers regardless of their rank hold the permanent office of "Constable". Alongside this MPS policy states that regular officers take primacy at operational incidents regardless of any MSC officers of rank being in attendance, but that is not to say that their contribution is dismissed out-of-hand purely because they are a volunteer. The reality is that such issues of primacy of decision-making seldom occur and there is an equitable collaboration between colleagues whom together seek to deliver the right result for the public.
As with regular ranks, MSC grades can be held on an 'acting', 'temporary' or 'substantive' basis.
Within the MPS, the MSC falls within Frontline Policing with the Chief Officer MSC being a member of the 'Chief Officers Group'.

Insignia

The main insignia which separates MSC from regular officers is the "SC & Crown" which is worn at the top of the epaulette by MSC officers of all ranks. Special Constables wear their "Borough Code", usually a two-letter code, which signifies which BCU or specialist unit they are attached to. Below this, at the bottom of their epaulette, is their Collar number, a four digit number beginning with a 5 or 8 if attached to Roads and Transport Policing Command or 9 if attached to Organised Crime. A Special Sergeant's insignia is similar to a Special Constable's except they have a 4-digit shoulder number beginning with 50. Officers ranked above sergeant do not wear borough codes or shoulder numbers.
Unlike epaulette insignia, the Metropolitan Special Constabulary have the same Uniform Insignia as the Metropolitan Police where the Special ranks have equivalent designs as well as the Assistant Chief Officer wears equivelant uniform to a Commander/Assistant Chief Constable and the Chief Officer wears equivalent uniform to the Commissioner/Chief Constable.