History of the Specials

Many people claim never to have heard of the Special Constabulary and so often assume that it is a relatively new institution. In fact, the origins of the Specials date back several hundred years to Anglo Saxon times, when the people policed themselves.

English Common Law states that every citizen has a legal obligation to go to the assistance of the police at any time they need help.

In 1673 King Charles II, alarmed by the threat of public disorder arising out of attempts to enforce religious conformity, extended this duty by ruling that any citizen might be sworn in as a temporary peace-officer for a specific occasion, in particular when there was a threat of great disturbances.

Any citizen could therefore be summoned before the magistrates and sworn in as a Special Constable, and could be heavily fined and even jailed if he refused!

The Act of 1673 was in force for hundreds of years and was used to call up specials on several occasions – although always in the North of England, never the South.

Industrial unrest

The years of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries caused much unrest and painful transition as automated machinery brought fundamental changes to the way people lived and worked. In the North of England, which had the highest concentration of people affected by these changes, many hundreds of thousands of workers found their standard of living sinking to starvation levels.

By 1819 economic conditions had improved sufficiently for the revolting masses to consider other problems, in particular the demand for parliamentary reform. The leaders of the movement for Parliamentary reform held mass meetings in towns and cities across the country.

Some sixty thousand demonstrators attended one such meeting in Manchester and in the early evening a riot broke out. The military were brought in and the Riot Act read but rioting spread to Stockport and Macclesfield, and a Special Constable was killed in New Cross. By the time order was restored several days later, eleven people were dead and over four hundred people injured.

As an indirect result of these riots, and the Government’s concerns about possible future unrest, an Act was passed in 1820 which clarified the powers of magistrates to compel men to become Special Constables for use in time of public disorder. However, local authorities still demonstrated reluctance to appoint Special Constables despite these new powers – perhaps because of the death and destruction wrought in the riots of 1819 where Specials had been used.

Special Constables Act 1831

The Government moved to put the Special Constabulary on a new footing in 1831 with the passing of “An Act for amending the Laws relative to the Appointment of Special Constables, and for the better preservation of the Police”. The provisions of this Act still form the basis of the constitution of today’s Special Constabulary.

The Act included may provisions, including a new power allowing local authorities to appoint Special Constables for the purpose of preserving the Peace should they consider existing police numbers inadequate for doing so.

Specials were granted all “powers, authorities, advantages and immunities” as any serving full-time constable. They were also given the power in extraordinary circumstances to act in adjoining counties.

The Act also stated that Specials were to be issued with any articles or weapons which the authorities considered they might need in the execution of their duty.

Notice though that at this time, a man (no women police officers in 1831!) could not refuse to serve as a Special Constable – in fact, the Act allowed for a fine of five pounds if he did! The Act did however empower the authorities to provide reasonable expenses to Specials, such costs to be met out of the local authority funds. Before 1831, Specials were forced to give up their time with no recompense other than the thrill of providing national service!

The next few years saw huge changes in society, with movements for the repeal of the Corn Laws and the abolition of slavery among the causes straining the now reformed police service. It was clear that however efficient the new constabularies may be, there would always be occasions when they simply would not be numerically strong enough to cope.

Volunteers at Last

Increased attention was therefore focused on the Special Constabulary and in 1835 yet another Act was passed. This Act had only two principal parts but both were key – firstly it introduced the principal of voluntary Special Constables. Secondly it widened the jurisdiction of Specials, allowing them to operate outside of their parishes and townships.  Specials today have their police powers on and off duty, across the country.

The Special Constabulary continued to be used by various governments in times of crisis over the next 300 years: in the early 1840’s the early Victorians used specials to combat the threats from the Chartists; the Edwardians likewise used them during the industrial unrest in the early 1900’s.

The 20th Century and Beyond

Finally at the beginning of the Great War 1914-1918 the Special Constabulary was ordered into a body similar to the present day one: a voluntary, part-time organisation, paid only their expenses. During World War One their primary function was to prevent German infiltrators from interfering with the nation’s water supply. Since that eccentric role they have played many important parts in historic events, such as the general strike of 1926 and the Second World War in 1939-1945.

Now in the 21st Century, many changes are afoot - a redefined role for the Specials, ever closer integration with their regular colleagues, maybe a new name, and discussion of payment of an annual bounty. The Special Constabulary is a closely integrated part of the fifty-plus police forces around the United Kingdom. In 2002 there were around 12,500 Special constables providing hundreds of thousands of hours of additional policing resources each year, and building a vital link to the communities they help to keep safe.