Volunteer to be recruited as counter terror officers

Volunteer police officers are to be recruited to work alongside counter terrorism specialists to fight radicalisation and recruitment. According to the Mail on Sunday, the counter terror special constables will assist with investigations into major incidents, and will work with the Prevent scheme which stops being becoming radicalised online. Documents state that the project will examine a ‘previously unexplored area of specialism for special constables and potentially longer term for volunteers with powers’. If the scheme is a success, the number of volunteers recruited to the scheme could increase. But the move to introduce 20 special constables to Scotland Yard’s elite SO15 unit has led to accusations of ‘policing on the cheap’ by critics who say unpaid workers should not replace specialist officers. Dave Jones, North Yorkshire chief constable, told the Mail on Sunday: “The projects being trialled are fine examples of how volunteers can bring experience and insight from other walks of life to complement, rather than replace, the work done by paid employees.” But Calum Macleod, chairman of the Police Federation, said: “This is yet another step towards policing on the cheap, and a further indication that money is being put before safety and a properly resourced police service. “Special Constables provide a valuable service but they should never replace experienced officers in these hare-brained schemes.”