The concept of the Special Constabulary is nothing new, although the present day service is strikingly different to that which has gone before. The first legislation relating to Specials was the Special Constables Act of 1831. This gave the Chief Police Officer of a County district powers to appoint Special Constables on a temporary basis as a result of specific occurrences.
This was followed by the Special Constables Act 1914, allowing the Chief Constable to appoint Specials even though "a tumult, riot or felony has not taken place". The outcome of this Act was to establish Specials with permanence.
The General Strike of 1926 and the Second World War saw Special Constables called once again into service. Reviews in the 1960s, 1980s and the introduction of a National Strategy in 2006 has shaped the Specials to the fully trained and equipped part of the Policing family it is today.
