Special Inspector

Special Inspectors work on a voluntary basis, leading teams of Special Sergeants, Special Constables and/or portfolios. They are responsible for developing their team whilst ensuring that organisational standards are met and agreed objectives are achieved.

This role involves planning, managing and monitoring policing activity in relation to the Special Constabulary. Special Inspectors assist in the deployment of Special Constabulary resources to planned operations and incidents. They manage and mitigate risk in order ensure the safety and wellbeing of their officers. A Special Inspector does not have any additional legal powers to that of a Special Constable.

• Plan, manage and monitor operational policing for their team(s) of Special Constabulary officers in liaison with regular supervisors and managers. Manage competing demands and priorities to make informed deployment decisions and ensure best use of available resources.

• Lead, motivate and develop a team of Special Sergeants and Special Constables, protecting and promoting workforce wellbeing to uphold professional standards. Adhere to Code of Ethics and enable a high performance team.

• Contribute to the setting, monitoring and assessment of team and individual key performance indicators in alignment with wider objectives. Taking corrective action as necessary to ensure that the team remain focused on contributing towards the achievement of force goals.

• Work with regular colleagues to plan policing operations and the response to incidents, in alignment with relevant frameworks and guidance, ensuring appropriate resource allocation and risk management to enable service delivery.

• Manage teams providing clear tasks for operational policing to provide an efficient and effective policing response to issues, situations and crime.

• Analyse performance data and information against team objectives in order to effectively inform workforce planning and the measurement of department and force goals.

• Identify, manage and mitigate threats and risks within specific Special Constabulary-led policing operations in line with national guidance and operational policing plans, and by working with regular colleagues, in order to ensure the safety of officers, staff, and the public.

• Develop and maintain relationships with colleagues, communities and partners to drive collaboration across policing and wider public services provision.

• Identify opportunities for and co-ordinate the exploration of new ways of working and innovation in policing, applying critical thinking to identify solutions to problems in line with evidence based practice within area(s) of responsibility.

• Analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of existing processes and practices within area(s) of work in order to identify and implement opportunities for change and innovation, promote best practice and enable improvement, problem solving approaches and evidence based policing within teams.

Prior Education and Experience:

• Must have achieved Qualified Special Constable (QSC) status in the area of policing practice in which they are working (e.g. Response Policing).
  • Special constables who have achieved Independent Patrol Status (IPS) via the Initial Learning for Special Constables programme (IL4SC) are equivalent to Directed Patrol Status within the new Special Constable Learning Programme (SCLP). Additional learning and assessment can be undertaken to achieve QSC.

• May have experience of managing others and/or possess transferable skills

Skills:

• Able to develop to short and medium-term plans, to coordinate a range of activities appropriately within the function, to match these to available resources, and to identify and mitigate known risks to delivery.

• Able to develop and motivate a team and create strong engagement of individuals with their personal and team objectives and with Force values, behaviours and strategic priorities.

• Able to contribute to the development and implementation an effective stakeholder and partner relationship plan which develops trusts and enables contributions.

• Able to engage a variety of audiences through a range of media to inform and/or persuade.

• Skilled in setting, monitoring and enabling high performance against team and individual performance objectives.

• Able to identify potential applications of new or improved practices related to area of work to improve ways of working.

• Able to contribute to resource planning, to make risk-based decisions that deliver effective outcomes within the resources allocated.

• Able to seek out and identify a range of information to identify patterns, trends and options, and use SARA (scan, analyse, respond and assess) principles to solve multifaceted and complex problems.

• Skilled in coaching and mentoring to enable appropriate career and professional development.

• Able to manage the delivery of change initiatives within teams.

• Able to solve problems and identify potential opportunities to enhance efficiency and/or effectiveness across teams.

• Able to maintain and develop personal resilience and wellbeing in complex and challenging situations and enable others.

• Maintain knowledge and understanding of Police Regulations and College of Policing Guidance (including the code of ethics), best practice and any local policy applicable to the operational police context particularly in relation to the Special Constabulary including leading and managing teams.

• Maintain and update key knowledge, understanding and skills relating to legislation policy and practice across all functional policing areas of operational responsibility.

• Maintain knowledge and understanding of new approaches identified by evidence based policing research, problem solving and team working and synthesise these into working practice.

• Complete all required and mandatory training.

• Maintain knowledge and understanding of performance management and assessment process and ensure they are implemented effectively when leading and managing teams.

• Keep up to date with guidance and best practice on health, safety and welfare.

Not applicable

Special Constable Accompanied Patrol Status

Special Constable Independent Patrol Status

Special Sergeant