Sixteen new police specials for Warwickshire

Warwickshire Police welcomes 16 new Special Constables to the force who will be officially sworn in during an Attestation Ceremony at Police Headquarters on Thursday, 12 May 2005 at 7.30pm by Assistant Chief Constable Andy Parker.

The Ceremony will be attended by the friends and families of the new recruits and by local Magistrate Sally Howells.

Glyn Gardner, who is Warwickshire Specials' Temporary Chief Officer following the recent retirement of Brian Pask said "All of the Specials have given up their free time both in training for their new roles and for the police duties themselves. They are all making a tremendous contribution to the community by using their free time in this way to help make Warwickshire a safer place to live and work."

The new Specials have just completed a 26-week training programme based both in the classroom and out on the streets to equip them for their new role in Warwickshire Police.

After the attestation they will be posted to locations across the county and will share the same powers as a regular police officer when on duty. The new recruits bring the total number of Police Specials in Warwickshire Police to 181.

Nuneaton
Four new specials will be based in Nuneaton (Note for editors: one of these specials has requested no publicity).

Thirty-two year old Daniel Hopkins, 28 year old David Marlow and 19 year old Cassie Manderston will all be based in Nuneaton.

Daniel said "I decided to become a police special because I feel it will be a rewarding job and will help me develop as a person."

David said "I wanted to become a special constable to give some time back to the community and chose Warwickshire Specials because I live in the county. Another factor was Warwickshire's forward thinking policy on the use of specials."

Cassie, who enjoys keeping fit, working in teams and meeting new and interesting people said

"I spoke to a few officers and realised just how rewarding it can be to offer your services back into the community."

Bedworth
Thirty-nine year old Carl Thompson and 28 year old Shawn Sutton will be based in Bedworth.

"I've had a long standing interest in police work" said Carl.

"Joining the specials enables me to continue my engineering career as well as carrying out my police duties in my spare time to make a positive difference to people's lives.

"My friends and family have all been very supportive and welcomed my decision to join the specials and the positive impact that will have in assisting the regular officers with their workload and priorities.

"My normal employment involves talking to and communicating with lots of people at all levels. Being a police special I am sure will also give me additional skills and experience and assist my own personal development."

Shawn said "I feel that I have got spare time on my hands and if that means I can do something that will give me skills and experience and give something to my community, a special constable is the ideal career opportunity."

Rugby
Forty-four year old Gary Upton and 21 year old Sarah-Jane Timms will be based in Rugby.

Gary said "I've been a neighbourhood watch coordinator and feel very strongly about local issues such as crime, disorder and nuisance. Now my family has grown up, I have the time and commitment available to fulfil this new role."

Sarah-Jane said "I always wanted to be around people helping them, but never thought I'd have a chance as I'm a young mum and had little qualifications. But now as well as having a job I love, I get to help people as a special constable."

Coleshill
Two new police specials will soon be on patrol in Coleshill.

Thirty-four year old Tanya Eve will be based in Coleshill. Tanya said

"I wanted to learn new skills to meet new people and to experience a different working environment. I'm looking forward to getting started."

Southam
Twenty-seven year old Graham Marston will be based in Southam. He said

"being a special is a job that's challenging, interesting and rewarding. It also helps me develop new skills, meet a variety of new people and be part of a team committed to making the area safer."

Leamington Spa
Forty-eight year old Davinder Singh Uppal and 25 year old Robert Masters will be based in Leamington.

Davinder said "I've lived in the area for 36 years and have been a special constable in the past. I enjoyed the role very much and got on with everyone in the station and with the public and want to try and make Warwickshire a safer place to live. I'd also like to try and encourage more ethnic origin people to join the police."

Robert said "I decided to join the specials as it's an opportunity to help the community and make it a safer environment for people to enjoy and live in. I work at a local VW dealership that sponsors one of the cars used by Warwickshire's specials. My job involves talking to the public in a sales environment and I think these skills will help when policing in Warwickshire."

Kenilworth
Kenilworth will welcome twenty year old Emma Horton-Barr who said

"I want to make a difference as much as possible and would like to learn new skills. I have lived in Warwickshire all my life and wanted to give something back to try and keep it a safe and relatively quiet place. I'd like to help keep Warwickshire as it is now - a place people want to visit."

Warwick
Kate Baines, aged 32 will be based in Warwick. Kate said "I joined because I wanted to learn a new job and be useful to my neighbours and the wider community."

Stratford upon Avon
Nineteen year old Christopher Hargreaves will be based at Stratford. Chris said

"I'm interested in joining the regulars and being a special is a way of building up career experience as well as a way of gaining life experience and helping people in the community."

If you are interested in becoming a Special, please contact Sara Hirst at Warwickshire Police on 01926 415106 or visit the careers section of this site

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