What to expect
What kind of duties do Special Constables carry out?
Our Special Constables are expected to carry out a variety of tasks.
You'll work alongside regular police officers and PCSOs as they carry out their duties, including going out on patrol, responding to 999 calls, attending road traffic collisions and conducting investigative enquiries. No two shifts are the same for a Special Constable.
You'll also be out and about, meeting the public and making your community a safer place to live, work and visit. Special Constables are involved in policing football matches and other local events, including:
- Agricultural Shows
- Wales Rally GB
- Bangor University Freshers’ Week
- Remembrance parades
- Access All Eirias concerts
- Conwy Pirate Weekend
Specials also undertake self-led operations and initiatives relating to road safety and crime reduction. Every day they make a real difference to the quality of life for people in North Wales.
What hours do Specials have to work?
We ask our Specials to commit a minimum of 16 hours per month on average to the role, and we’re flexible in terms of how you achieve this. But some choose to work more, often covering a standard ten hour shift with the police officers they're teamed up with.
Specials can work a variety of shifts to fit in around their non-police commitments. As policing is a 24/7 job, there's always a shift that will suit you.
What training will I receive? We follow a national programme, involving weekend, weekday and evening sessions. You’ll also get continuous ‘on the job’ training and supervision, and you can request additional training in specific areas that are of interest to you.
Special Constables are expected to keep their knowledge and skills up to date, so you’ll be required to attend further courses in areas such as:
- Diversity
- Personal development review
- Personal safety
- First Aid
The training programmes for the current and upcoming intakes can be downloaded below.
What opportunities are there to progress?
As a Special
Many people give years of their lives to their work as a Special Constable. However if you're keen to move up the ladder, the Special Constabulary has a rank structure which mirrors that of the regular Constabulary, so you'll find opportunities for promotion to Sergeant, Inspector or even Chief Inspector. If you have management and leadership experience, we’re able to offer Direct Entry at Sergeant level to suitable applicants.
You could also consider moving into a specialist role. We currently have Specials working within our Rural Crime, Road Safety Unit and Football Spotter teams, with plans to develop opportunities in more areas in the future.
As a Police Officer
The skills and knowledge gained from being a Special are an excellent grounding for applying to become a regular police officer. Many of our Specials have used their experience to move into paid policing.