Bringing Life Experience to Policing

Jenny Hill discovered the opportunity to volunteer as a special constable for Thames Valley Police via a work email. She is now contributing valuable life experiences to frontline policing. Discover more about her path.

How long have you volunteered as a special constable, and what convinced you to apply? 

Just over two years. We get a “weekly buzz” at work via email and it was included there. This was just before covid and I thought it looked interesting so applied. I had my interview during lockdown and was in one of the first full intakes back. 

Away from volunteering you work at the Environment Agency – what does that work involve? 

I work in the Incident Team so my job is managing incidents – primarily flooding, but also drought, fires, and more. I also look at role resilience – so how capable we are of responding to an emergency.

Does your work with the police give you a different perspective in your day job? 

It does. I do some multi-partner working and sit in tactical groups so I get involved with the fire service and police, as well as local councils. 

What motivated you to volunteer for TVP? 

In my day job I don’t work with the public so it was a chance to do something different. I suppose my other reasons for doing it were to challenge myself and push myself out of my comfort zone. My children are grown up, my husband has his own things, and now I have my thing. It seemed like the right time in my life to do it. 

What is it like dealing with members of the public? 

I don’t mind it, I’m pretty good at talking to people. I’m a mum, a wife – all those skills that an older female can bring to the special constable role are huge. If I’m helping to look for a missing person I can speak to parents from the perspective of a mother – and while I’ve never been in that situation I can talk with empathy. 

Did you immediately decide you were going to apply, or was it a longer process? 

I’m the sort of person who – if I think too long about something – I’ll never do it, so I tend to just jump straight in and deal with it later! 

How was the training, and how many hours do you put in? 

It was good! At the time everything other than safety training and first aid was online. I fit it in around my day job as it’s quite flexible. It was all evenings and weekends. Now that’s complete I put in anywhere between 40 and 60 hours each month but the requirement is 18. I’m able to compress my work hours, as well as use my ESP (Employer Supported Policing) days – I get 12 days paid to volunteers. 

Which part of the training did you enjoy most? 

The OST (Officer Safety Training) was another one of those situations where I just needed to get in and do it. I don’t like role play or anything like that so was daunted at first, but our cohort got to know each other well and that really helped. I’ve done it a few times and now I feel much more confident. 

Does the training put you in a good position for when you’re out on shift? 

Yes, and that comes from doing stuff over and over again. I still struggle with the caution, even though I know it off by heart. The training is good, but it’s being out with experienced officers where you really learn. 

Can you remember your first day in the station? 

I met with the special sergeant and got a tour of the station. She took me out on my first shift – we drove around and did some radio comms. It was really useful. 

Are there any jobs that are particularly memorable? 

We had a job where we had to break into a house where a lady had unfortunately passed away and had been there for a while. Those do stick in your head a bit. 

And missing children jobs – as a parent those stick with you a bit more. 

How well do you get along with your regular colleagues – what are their perceptions of the Specials? 

The team here have been amazing. One of the team used to be a special which I think helps. The neighbourhood team are really happy to have you in and I’ve not come across anyone who has not liked the specials. We always seem to have a really good response. 

What do you particularly like about working with the neighbourhood policing team? 

They know everybody and they know what’s going on and I think that’s important. ICR can have more paperwork and you could be sat in the office, whilst neighbourhood tend to have an operation on and you can get more involved and be more engaged with the public. 

Finally – what would you say to somebody thinking about applying to be a special constable? 

If you’ve got the time, just do it, it’s really rewarding. You’ve got to have a fairly thick skin but it’s definitely worth doing. For personal achievements as well as being out there and being that person that someone can talk to. It was more for myself to start with, but now it’s more about being there for other people. 

Jenny’s volunteering with TVP is in part facilitated by the Environment Agency’s Employer Supported Policing (ESP) policy. If you’d like to learn more about ESP, or how it might benefit you as an employer, please visit our Employer Supported Policing webpage.

Is it time for you to do something Special? If you think you could rise to the challenge of volunteering in the Special Constabulary, you can learn more at our Special Constables webpage, or apply via the vacancies portal. 

 Special Constable