New Special Constables join the Dorset Police Rural Crime Team
I am pleased to tell you that three new Special Constables have recently joined the Dorset Police Rural Crime Team. Their addition to the team will further enhance the teams capability in tackling crime across our rural communities.
Special Constables are unique individuals who bring skills and experience from outside of policing that benefit the communities of Dorset. 'Specials' have the same powers and wear the same uniform as regular police officers.
My team had the privilege of speaking to one of the new additions, Special Constable Withers, about his new rural role, here is what he had to say:
“I joined Dorset Police as a Special in April 2021. This is my second time as a special as I previously did 12 and a half years for Wiltshire constabulary. I was with Wiltshire until my son was born, I didn’t want to be in the police whilst my son was growing up. My son is now grown up and I have two businesses that are now established. I realised I needed something for me, I needed to spend some time doing something I wanted to do, so I re-joined – as a Special.”
“I want to be a police officer but also want to keep my businesses. Being a Special allows me to do both. I really enjoyed being a Special last time I did it, although it has changed a bit now. When I joined the first time, we were still using physical files. Now everything is on computers.”
“I am excited to be specialising and joining the Rural Crime Team. When I was a Special in Wiltshire, I worked in Alderbury, which is very much a rural area of Wiltshire. Although we didn’t have specialisation back then, we still went out and did things like Farm Watch and the elements of neighbourhood policing face-to-face engagement, on top of response work.”
“I thought joining the Rural Crime Team would put me back where I was before. It gives me a bit more of a purpose in my work. There is a focus area that I can start to specialise in and really learn about. Working for the Rural Crime Team, I get to know a bit more about the background of situations than I did for response. I’ve been out on Op Galileo and as part of that, we get to really drill down on the work. You get to know the hotspots, talk to the farmers and rural residents to build a rapport with them, and learn a lot more about specific laws and crimes.”
“I am looking forward to getting my teeth into rural crime in the coming months. I think having the specialist knowledge will really help me be able to make a difference in the communities I want to serve.”
I’d like to congratulate Special Constable Withers and the two other new additions to the Rural Crime Team on their new roles. Every member of the Rural Crime Team is dedicated to tackling rural crimes across Dorset and I look forward to hearing more about their work in the weeks and months to come.
David Sidwick
Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner