Organisation Name:
North Yorkshire Police
Organisation's Cause(s):
Crime / Victims / Offenders
Emergency / Disaster Response
Location of voluntary activity:
North Yorkshire
When are volunteers needed: Duty Times are dependent on the Individual, but there is an expectation that they would contribute 16 hours a month. This can be easily done in two shifts with a Policing Team in the area of the volunteers choice.
Type of Voluntary Activity:
Customer Service
Miscellaneous
Role description:
Special Constables come from all walks of life and join for a variety of reasons. They are a vital part of all Police Forces across the country, supporting and enhancing the work of regular Police Officers. North Yorkshire Police have a well-established Special Constabulary of dedicated volunteers, and we are committed to recruiting hard-working individuals with a genuine interest in policing.
Our Special Constables need huge amounts of enthusiasm and determination to succeed. With the same powers, uniform and equipment (not including tasers) as Police Officers, you’ll play a key role in maintaining our extremely high standards. This is not an easy role and is only suitable for driven individuals with a real passion for serving the public, with proven life experience and customer service skills. You will need to be markedly resilient to deal with the confrontational and potentially harrowing situations that you’ll come across. If you are to succeed in this role you must have effective communication skills and strong team working ethics.
Joining the Specials opens up a world of opportunities for personal and professional advancement. Undergoing the training and then going out on patrol makes a welcome break from day-to-day life and challenges every day. You’ll benefit from unrivalled training and investment in your development. We’ll help you develop skills - from leadership to responsiveness - that will enhance every aspect of your life. After all, we need you to be the best there is. Whatever your background, you’ll be truly valued as an integral member of our force.
Newly recruited Special Constables will embark on the Special Constabulary Learning Programme (SCLP) - a training programme in collaboration with the Open University.
How long will be training take to complete?
Learning as a Special Constable is never complete. However, to complete the SCLP at North Yorkshire Police you will be allowed up to 24 months.
You will be on patrol after your initial training (approximately 3 months) whilst you continue to develop your skills and complete your Occupational Competency Portfolio (OCP).
Your initial training will include a compulsory requirement for you to take a full 7 days to complete your Officer Safety Training (OST).
Once you have completed your initial training and reached Directed Patrol Status (DPS), North Yorkshire Police has a great pathway of options for your to continue your own learning and development!
What does this mean if a Special Constable wants to then join as a Police Constable (PC)?
One of the biggest benefits of the SCLP is that when a Special Constable applies to be a PC, their learning through the SCLP can be transferred over to their PC training. It is recognised learning and will not need to be repeated.
In some forces, Special Constables completing their learning and knowledge until the point of Dependent Patrol Status (DPS) will allow them to transfer over to becoming a Police Constable without the requirement of the National Assessment Centre.
Why have North Yorkshire Police collaborated with the Open University?
The Open University currently provides North Yorkshire Police’s Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship. As the training contains the same modules, it was important to ensure our Special Constables receive the same standard of training as our Police Constables - this also allows for an easy transition for those who wish to pathway from being a Special Constable to a Police Constable.
We also love the remote learning ability that the Open University has to offer, allowing some aspects of our Special Constable training to be easily accessible and can be completed at the every Special Constable’s own schedule.
What are my options if I do not aspire to be a Police Officer?
Once you have completed your SCLP programme to the point of being a Dependent Patrol Status Special Constable, North Yorkshire have designed a number of options to enable Special Constables to continue to develop, learn and gain new skills through specialisms or to continue to police with regular response teams. Options include:
Response Special Constable
Working with the Neighbourhood Policing Teams
Policing with the Road Policing Group
Policing with the Rural Task Force
Working and support NYP’s School Liaison officers
Licensing
Skills and behaviours needed for the role:
To apply to become a Special you must:
You must be 17 or older when applying to be a special constable, but you will not be able to take up appointment as a special constable until reaching the age of 18.
be a British Citizen, a European Union/European Economic Area national or commonwealth citizen, or a foreign national with no restrictions on your stay in the UK
have a minimum of three years continuous residency in the UK, with less than 12 months spend abroad in the last three years (with some exceptions for those living on a UK military base)
be able to pass our fitness test, reaching level 5.4 on a 15 metre shuttle run (bleep test)
not currently undertaking a restricted occupation
No specific qualifications are required to enable you to become a Special Constable.
However, should you wish to transfer your learning to being a Police Constable, under the current apprenticeship scheme you will require math's and English level 3 (GCSE- C). Not having these qualifications will not stop you applying to be a Special Constable and NYP will support you in gaining these qualifications should you wish to journey through to becoming a PC.
Criminal record
A conviction or caution is not an automatic eliminator. You must ensure that you disclose all details of any offences however minor, failure to declare any offences may mean that your application is rejected. Checks will be made, each will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
Driving convictions
Depending on the severity of the conviction this may affect your application, for example if you have been convicted of drink driving in the last 10 years then it is likely your application will be refused.
Criminal record of a family member
If your family member has been convicted of a serious offence - eg burglary - then it is likely that your application will be refused.
Financial troubles
Applicants must have not been declared bankrupt with outstanding debts, have outstanding County Court Judgements against them or be subject to a current Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). If you have any of these then it is likely that your application will be refused.
If you travelled abroad within the last year
An individual who has spent a significant period of time overseas without returning to the UK, but with the intention of doing so in the future, such as an individual who takes a gap year prior to or following university or an individual who goes travelling for a year, is considered to have taken an extended holiday. As such, they will maintain residency in the UK and therefore be eligible for consideration under the Residency Criteria.
North Yorkshire Police apply a maximum time spent out of the UK as 12 months and must be for the reasons stated above (working outside the UK for an extended period is not covered in the above), however, we will discuss any potential issues on a case by case basis.
Will there be a DBS check? Yes
Driving Licence required? No
Volunteer's own vehicle required? No
Suitable for:
Ongoing Volunteering
What will the volunteer gain/benefit from:
Above all, the feeling that you really are making a difference – making a positive contribution in the fight against crime
Sense of personal fulfilment
Develop personal and professional skills
Learn and develop many transferable skills that often support paid employment or other roles/personal life: e.g. managing confrontational situations, leadership and personal safety
Personal satisfaction of learning new skills and gaining confidence
Learn more about policing
Show your community that you care
Meet new people
Work as part of a team
Enjoy new experiences
Discover new things about yourself and just how much you are capable of
Leadership skills
How to get involved:
Please complete the application form off our recruitment site https://northyorkshirepolice.engageats.co.uk/Vacancies/W/3369/0/463681/21992/special-constable
Web link: Click here
Closing date: 09-03-2026