Special Constables volunteering with British Transport Police (BTP) are set to be the first in England and Wales to be represented by the Police Federation.
From this month (January 2021), British Transport Police Federation are welcoming Specials as members. British Transport Police will be funding the Special Constable’s membership of the staff association.
At a meeting held back in September, delegates, elected to represent Federation members, debated extending membership to the Special Constabulary.
BTP Federation was established under the Railway Transport and Safety Act to represent officers from Constable to Chief Inspector in matters affecting their welfare and efficiency. No amendments to the Act are required to enable Specials to join.
Chair of BTP Federation, Nigel Goodband, said:
“BTP’s Special Constables are extremely committed to supporting our members, dedicating many thousands of hours of their time each year. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic their work has been even more visible and crucial. Specials face the same dangers and challenges as our members and should have access to the same representation, protection and support.”
BTP has 302 Special Constables who last year (2020) volunteered 100,702 hours.
Ben Clifford, BTP’s Special Constabulary Chief Officer, said:
“I’m delighted that our Special Constables are now eligible to become members of the BTP Federation. As fully warranted officers, facing the risks and challenges associated with frontline policing, it’s welcome that they will be able to access the wellbeing support and benefits of the Federation.
“Our Specials work hard to support the force’s regular police officers to serve the public and do so on a voluntary basis, so it’s good news that the force have been able to support their membership.”
Rachael Etebar, Director of People and Culture from British Transport Police, said:
“Our Special Officers volunteer thousands of hours each year to keep the travelling public safe. We wanted to recognise and thank them for their volunteering by enabling them to access the support and representation of the BTP Police Federation.”
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
