Special Constable of the Year winner thought he was in trouble

29 November 2023

A West Midlands Police Federation member has told how an email from the Chief Constable triggered a rollercoaster of emotions before he realised he’d won an award.

Special Sergeant Craig Hume returned from holiday to find the unopened email from Chief Constable Craig Guildford sitting in his inbox.

Initially he feared he’d done something wrong before his emotions changed to surprise that he’d been named Special Constable of the Year.

Craig explained: “I found out I’d been nominated for the award earlier in the year.

“I then came back from holiday to an email from the Chief Constable saying that I’d won the award.

“It was worrying to see the email from the Chief Constable - I was thinking what have I done? But then I opened it and it was actually good news.

“I was more than happy with the nomination, so to win was a huge surprise.”

Craig received his award at the Force’s recent Excellence Awards, which he said was for his work supporting fellow volunteer officers.

Award winner: (left to right) Dr Nasir Awan MBE DL Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Craig Hume, his wife Emily, Wade Lyn Sheriff of West Midlands, West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford.

“I like to put others first and consider their welfare,” he explained. “Pretty much everything I do is to make sure they’re treated properly and they have the support they need to do the job.

“It can be a scary, fun, and exciting job and if officers aren’t supported it can be tough and lonely out there.

“I try to make sure there’s support available, signpost them to things they can do to help themselves, that could be anything from mental wellbeing to fitness things.

“As Specials, we come in, we do a lot of hours and we do a lot of work, and we do it for free, so the least we can do is make it as enjoyable as possible and offer them the support they need to make it enjoyable.”

Craig has been a Special for three years having joined during one of the Covid lockdowns.

“Where I live there were a lot of car thefts,” he said. “I was moaning about it and the police not doing anything, because I didn’t really understand it.

Craig Hume with Steve O'Brien of sponsors Cloudera.

“Then I thought there was no point in moaning and not doing anything about it, so I applied and it snowballed and the next thing I was getting measured for a uniform and through the doors of Tally Ho.

“It went from I’ll put my money where my mouth is to here we are, I’m an attested police officer.”

Craig initially worked in Solihull as part of the Lyndon, Elmdon, Olton and Silhill (LEOS) team, working up to 100 hours a month.

“We got some really good results,” he said. “I helped the newer Specials coming through, gave them tips and advice about what I’d learned.”

Craig then moved to Birmingham East, first as a temporary Special Sergeant and then permanently, after passing the interview stage.

And he said his training with the Force has had a huge impact on his role outside of work with Tecalemit Garage Equipment, where he’s recently been promoted to regional manager.

“It was closely linked to the training and transferable skills the police have given me,” he said.

“Although they’re not part of employer supported policing, they’ve been really good and flexible.”

And Craig is also a huge advocate for membership of the Federation.

“I always say to new Specials to become a member,” he said. “Hopefully you’ll never need to use the Federation but it’s there.

“It’s one of our greatest tools as a police officer. People say PAVA, or Taser, or the baton, but for me it’s being a member of the Police Federation and the fact you know there’s going to be somebody there to back you up should something go wrong.”