The document discusses the work of the Gwent Police Special Constabulary, a group of volunteer police officers who work alongside regular police officers. It profiles Richard Jones, the Chief of the Gwent Special Police, who explains that the Special Constabulary has a long history in the UK dating back hundreds of years. The article describes how Special Constables undergo training and then perform a variety of policing duties from small community events to assisting with serious cases. It also notes that the Special Constabulary is seeing growing interest from potential new recruits in Gwent.

1. Welcome
Special officers
helping to keep
community safe
IT takes a dedicated person to give up
their free time to fight crime.
In our main feature we talk to the Gwent
Police Special Constabulary to find out
the work they do to support the regular
force as well as a bit of the history be-
hind unpaid policing.
It seems the appeal comes from the va-
riety of activities the unit undertakes as
well as the thrill of having a taste of life
in the police force.
For our family fun feature we take a look
at the Llangorse multi activity centre,
at just over an hour away by car it’s the
perfect day trip if you’re looking to get
the kids active.
In our Great Outdoors feature we chat
to the groups and individuals taking on
the litter bugs one crisp packet at a time
and in our food and drink feature dis-
cover how healthy eating is on the rise,
particularly when it comes to a curry.
We’ve also got two pages of brainteas-
ers and puzzles as well as ciabatta reci-
pe from artisan baker Bill King.
Have a great weekend!
18 Main feature
Volunteer with the Gwent Police Spe-
cials
20 Shopping
Summer florals
21 Family Fun
Try out the Llangorse Multi Activity Cen-
tre
22 Great Outdoors
Join the litter picking army
24 Puzzles
Two pages of the usual brainteasers
26 Food and Drink
Healthy curries
CONTACT:
EDITORIAL: Becky Carr 01633 777226
becky.carr@southwalesargus.co.uk
ADVERTISING: Lynsey Hughes 01633 777285
lynsey.hughes@southwalesargus.co.uk
FROM managing sporting
events to going out on the
beat with regular officers,
the Special Police Constab-
ulary is a unique brand of
workers.
Volunteers who juggle
the demands of day-to-day
jobs away from policing,
before committing to help
full-time officers keep our
communities safe, the Spe-
cial Police work alongside
neighbouring teams carry-
ing out policing duties and
developing links between
organisations and local
communities.
With Specials having to
commit to a minimum of 16
hours a month, these hard-
working people learn to
juggle their two jobs along
with social and family lives,
and with more and more
people in Gwent looking to
join the police force in this
capacity, the spotlight is
firmly on those volunteers.
So how do you become a
Special Police Constable?
One man who knows all
about this is Richard Jones.
A special constable for
13 years, Richard joined
Gwent Police last year
from the British Transport
Police and has progressed
to become Chief of Gwent
Special Police.
Explaining the proud his-
tory of the Special Police,
he says: “The office of
Special Constable is unique.
Its history precedes that of
the paid police officer by
hundreds of years.
“However it wasn’t
until 1831 that the Special
Constables Act was passed,
which granted Special
Constables all powers, au-
thority and immunities of a
serving constable.
“In that time the Special
Constables have become
valuable sources of support
to the regular force, both in
times of war and peace.”
Having been a member of
the Special Police for over
a decade, it is clear that
Mr Jones is very passion-
ate about the force, and as
Chief of Gwent is excited at
the number of people inter-
ested in volunteering.
Trained in such polic-
ing areas as law, powers
of arrest and rights of
suspects, the Special Police
is open to everyone with
few restrictions preventing
people to join, as long as
they are from the European
Economic Area and do not
work in similar occupations
such as security officers or
with the armed forces.
As Special Police officers,
police work varies from
small scale events to more
serious matters, including
cases like the recent closure
of a Blackwood pub after
police found what they
thought were drugs present
in the building.
“We had 12 or 15 spe-
cial officers working in
Blackwood last week with
regular officers, and our
officers were integrated in
to the regular officer teams,
and then a few days later we
had officers down at the Big
Cheese festival in Caerphil-
ly”, said Mr Jones, who also
works as a HR manager at
Newport firm Abbeyfield.
It is this varying nature
of incidents and events
which the Specials cover,
that make the force such
an interesting proposition
for many, and with train-
ing recently under way at
Gwent Police’s headquar-
ters at Turnpike Road in
Cwmbran, new recruits
are already being put
through their paces under
the watchful gaze of Chief
Richard Jones.
With 20 new recruits start-
ing in September, training
is crucial in developing
their skills before they
begin the real work.
TRY OUTS: People hoping to become a Special constable take part in the fitness test
TRAINING: Another hopeful
finds out what’s needed
Saturday, August 1, 201518 southwalesargus.co.uk
With more and more
Gwent people
looking to join the
police ranks, what
does it take to
become a Special
Police Constable?
JONATHAN DAVIES
finds out more
Weekend
It’s The
BECKY CARR
CONTENTS