He was responding to an Early Day Motion from Harlow MP Robert Halfon – entitled Special Constables as a Reserve Force – which maintains there is currently “huge untapped potential” for recruiting many more volunteers.
The motion also notes that “transforming the Special Constabulary into a Territorial Army-style force” would enable officers to carry out more duties offering “excellent value for money”.
Mr Halfon suggests the government “re-focus its resources to incentivise Special Constables so that they work more hours and develop professionally”.
While Early Day Motions – which are topics formally submitted for debate – rarely succeed, they are often used as platforms for highlighting specific campaigns and demonstrating Parliamentary support for a cause or view.
As this story went live, Mr Halfon’s proposal had been signed by several colleagues.
But Chief Officer Cook stressed that that the volunteer status of the Special Constabulary had to be preserved.
He added: “I would also stress that Specials should never be a direct replacement for the valuable role of PCSOs, who work full time in their communities.
“You only have to look at recent major events, such as the flooding in Cumbria and the 7/7 London bombings to see that our volunteers already support Regular colleagues at very short notice and carry out thousands of additional duty hours."
Moves to bring greater professionalism and consistency to the volunteer officers are already underway with the roll out of a National Strategy.
But the system for unpaid police volunteers operates very differently from the TA equivalent. Troops receive an annual tax-free bounty for membership and, if they volunteer or are called up to deploy, they receive full time pay as well as being eligible for the same entitlements as Regular colleagues.
Under current rules, soldiers must also tell current and prospective employers that they are a military reservist and that they could be called on for duty.
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