Tobias Ellwood, Parliamentary Candidate for Bournemouth East, has written to the Dorset Chief Constable asking her to consider giving the Special Constables a salary.
Like the TA, the Specials are part time police officers who provide vital additional support and flexibility to the regular units. They have the same powers of arrest as regular police, but unlike the TA, they are do not receive a salary.

As the role of the Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) comes under increasing scrutiny (PCSOs are paid 7/8 that of a regular police officer, but little training and have very limited powers) paying the 'Specials' would arguably be seen as much better use of tax payers' money. The concept of paying the Specials Constables is not new. Indeed some forces are already circumventing HR issues and running payment schemes. Humberside, Cumbria, West Midlands and Thames Valley have all pursued the idea although only Humberside is currently running a scheme across its whole force while Cumbria is considering extending its scheme force-wide.

With appropriate changes to the relevant legislation, all police forces across the country could have the option of paying Specials Constables without the need to deal with complex contractual obligations and employment rights which currently stand in the way.
Following a meeting with local police last year Tobias wrote to the then Shadow Home Secretary, Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP, with this idea.

Last week the Rt Hon David Davis MP, the current Shadow Home Secretary, addressing the Police Superintendents' Association announced that not only would Special Constables be paid under a Conservative Government but also that numbers in England and Wales would be increased from the present 11,000 to 20,000. This would lead to a doubling of Special Constables from 40 to 80 in the Bournemouth area. (This is in addition to the Conservative commitment to increase the regular police force by 40,000 - an additional 418 for Dorset).

Commenting on the proposal, Tobias said 'It is clear that paying the Specials would be popular with the regular police, the Specials themselves and the PCSO's, (many of whom would take up the offer of transferring across) as well as the public. It would also lead to larger police presence on our streets.

For more information please contact:

Tobias Ellwood
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate
Bournemouth East
Haviland Road West
Bournemouth
BH1 4JW

Email: Tobias@bournemoutheastconservatives.com