North Yorkshire Police has welcomed a further 13 new Special Constables to the force following an attestation ceremony at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court.
The attestation – which is when the officers are sworn in and given their warrant cards – followed the new officers’ intensive, initial training period of three months. They will now be assigned a tutor constable out on their neighbourhood beats, who will guide them through the next phase of their training which can take up to two years.
The officers were welcomed to North Yorkshire Police by Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Ken McIntosh after swearing their oath in front of the Magistrates. T/ACC McIntosh, said:
It gives me great pleasure to welcome our new volunteer police officers to North Yorkshire Police. Special Constables are a valuable part of the policing family whose work is very much appreciated by their regular colleagues and members of the community.
In return for their incredibly generous and public spirited gesture of giving up their free to time to help protect our communities, they can look forward to a very rewarding, fulfilling and challenging career with our Special Constabulary.
I would like to thank them for joining North Yorkshire Police, we are very grateful for their time, commitment and support.
‘Specials’, as special constables are known, play a key role in local policing and have the same powers in law as regular police officers, including the power of arrest. However, the role of Specials can also extend into more complex areas of policing.
Specials come from all walks of life – they are teachers, taxi drivers, accountants and secretaries, or any number of other careers – and they all volunteer a minimum of four hours a week to their local police force, forming a vital link between the regular (full-time) police and the local community.
The new officers will be based at York (six), Harrogate (three), Scarborough (one), Skipton (one) and Selby (two).
These latest recruits bring the total number of newly attested specials across North Yorkshire Police to 37 so far this year.
