Special Sergeant

Special Sergeants are the first level of leadership in the Special Constabulary. They oversee the supervision, guidance and support of Special Constables. The Special Sergeant is responsible for the development of the Special Constables in their team(s) and ensuring that organisational standards are met and agreed objectives are achieved.

A Special Sergeant will co-ordinate Special Constabulary resources, help plan and deliver policing operations and initiatives, and work with partner agencies as required. A Special Sergeant does not have any additional legal powers in addition to that of a Special Constable.

• Lead a team of Special Constables including supervision maintaining regular contact, overseeing wellbeing and welfare considerations, individual and team performance, professional and personal development and ensuring high levels of motivation to facilitate effective policing by the Special Constabulary.

• Provide advice and guidance to team members to ensure policing responses are appropriate, conform to policies and legislation and achieve the best possible policing outcomes.

• Monitor and manage the performance of the team and individuals, including:
  • Issues around absence and/or compliance,
  • Devising and implementing effective strategies to improve performance,
  • Ensure adherence to professional standards and
  • Contribute to the achievement of the unit/Force objectives.

• Work with Police officers and Police staff to support the planning of policing operations and the response to incidents. Policing decisions and actions must align with relevant frameworks and guidance, ensure appropriate resource allocation and risk management is in place to enable effective and safe service delivery.

• Support the learning of Special Constables including assessment of capabilities and development needs. Special Sergeants should devise appropriate team and individual development plans to enable high performance and potential progression.

• Manage special constables during policing responses, in conjunction with regular supervisors, including the allocation of resources, directing activities, managing risks, liaising and reviewing progress, to deliver an effective and appropriate response which supports law enforcement and facilitates public safety.

• Support effective partnership working to enable progress against community policing objectives.

• Investigate new ways of working and innovation in policing, such as applying critical thinking techniques to problem solve in line with evidence based policing practice.

• Support the implementation of problem solving and evidence based policing initiatives by championing and applying relevant methodologies and approaches to area(s) of work.

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 PEQF 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:

• Strong communication skills and able to set out logical arguments clearly, adapting language, form and message to meet the needs of different audiences.

• Able to develop and motivate a team and create strong engagement with both personal and team objectives and Force strategic priorities.

• Able to review and assess individual and team performance against expected standards, providing feedback and ensuring corrective actions are taken where necessary.

• Able to coach and mentor colleagues to enable appropriate career and professional development.

• Able to plan ahead and allocate work appropriately within the team.

• Problem solving to develop a course of action designed to target root causes and manage risks.

• Able to critically analyse and identify potential opportunities to enhance efficiency and/or effectiveness with Special constables and across the team.

• Able to identify, analyse, and manage risk to inform balanced, proportionate evidenced-based decisions.

• Able to identify new processes or ways of working at team level.

• Skilled in using specialised software related to own area of work to extract, analyse, plan and report on data.

• Able to develop and maintain professional resilience and wellbeing in oneself and others particularly in complex and challenging situations.

• 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 leading and managing teams.

• Maintain and update key knowledge, understanding and skills relating to legislation policy and practice across all functional policing areas where they hold supervisory responsibility.

• Maintain knowledge and understanding of new approaches identified by evidence based policing research and translate these where possible into current policing practice.

• Maintain knowledge and understanding of performance management processes and ensure they are implemented effectively for individuals in the team

• Complete all required and mandatory training

• 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 Inspector