Hertfordshire Police Federation chair Luke Mitchell has praised the contribution Special Constables make to policing.

Luke spoke of his own personal pride as a Special policing his home town Watford, as he reflected on his time as a volunteer.

It’s now almost 12 months since the Police Federation welcomed Specials into its membership following a lengthy campaign, and Luke said their contribution was invaluable.

“I remember working with a huge amount of volunteers who gave up so much of their time to help police their community,” he said.

“We had a huge range of people doing their bit, some keen to move into policing full-time, others just wanting to give back.

“Some of the Specials I worked with at the time had committed more than 30 years to policing, which is just incredible. I was proud to be policing my home town of Watford and doing my bit to help people.”

Luke’s comments came as the policing celebrated National Specials Weekend (2 – 4 June), which formed part of Volunteers’ Week which runs until Wednesday (7 June).

Now in its 39th year, Volunteers’ Week is a chance to recognise the incredible contribution volunteers – including Specials - make across the UK.

Luke said: “Being a Special is a really rewarding role. The huge range of roles afforded to Specials now is vast.

“It gives you self-worth, a feeling you’re doing something valued and in support of others.

“Not only that, but you get a chance to see the reality of policing, the sheer hard work put in daily by police officers, it’ll dispel the constant negative press the police get.

“It will make you a better person, more confident and give you so much experience that can’t be obtained in any other role.

“While you might not want to join up full-time, the experience you get from policing will give you that edge in any job you may go for.”

Luke joined Hertfordshire Police as a Special when he was a teenager and it was a key part of his journey to fulfilling his ambition of being a full-time officer.

“I was always committed to joining the police,” he said. “It was the only job I wanted to do. When I was 18 a good friend of mind had already joined and encouraged me to join. I still felt very young and perhaps not ready to join full time and wanted to gain the experience.

“From 13-years-old I started to volunteer for the police. I was part of the Youth Crime Prevention Panel. I suppose it was much like the cadets. It was here that I met a lot of great police officers and staff who helped me on my journey into policing.

“I was blessed to have such good people around me who genuinely wanted to help me achieve my aim of becoming a police officer.”

Being a Special Constable helped Luke in other ways to become a full-time police officer, he said, including with his dyslexia.

He explained: “Because I’m dyslexic I knew becoming a police officer would be a challenge for me. While I was a good street copper, I struggled with paperwork.

“Being a Special first allowed me to form good relationships with other officers so I was well supported. I honestly feel that had I not had that 12 months as a Special I may not have made it through my probation.

“When I came back to my area after my training as a full-time officer I was already skilled in lots of the things others were still learning. This afforded me the time to work on my paperwork, statements and files.

“Policing has vastly changed over the last 20 years and I’m pleased to see that those that may struggle with dyslexia are afforded extra support in terms of a laptop or other reasonable adjustments,” he added.