It all began with a normal Friday morning commute to work. But when Jas Samra spotted a special constables advert on the tube, life soon became a little less ordinary.
Special constables are volunteer police officers who play a pivotal role in the Met. Becoming one gives you the chance to work alongside regular police officers, bring skills and experiences from your day job and give something back to London.
In 2006, Samra became one of the Met’s latest recruits as a special constable. After successfully completing an online application form, she was invited to an assessment. “It was a whirlwind,” she says. “Suddenly I had a superintendant asking me what I’d do in different scenarios – it was daunting but very exciting.”
For Samra it also reignited an old passion. As a girl she had always wanted to become a police officer. But at 18, she thought she wouldn’t pass the medical as she assumed the Met were strict if you didn’t have 20/20 vision.
“So I put it to bed and thought that was it,” she says. “But when I saw that advert for specials, it opened everything back up. I thought: let’s have a look.”
The HSBC development manager has been volunteering as a special constable for around nine years. Today, she patrols Westminster as part of the Covent Garden Safer Neighbourhoods Team – working a minimum of 200 hours per year. (For Samra, that typically works out as two eight-hour days per month.)
While she was going through the Met’s vetting process, her line manager informed her of the Employer Supported Policing (ESP) scheme, which allows employees paid leave for their police training and duties.
“He told me that HSBC are part of the scheme and would support me – giving me a day off every fortnight to patrol,” says Samra. “I’d intended to volunteer in my spare time, so that was amazing.”
Samra completed her four-week police training course in the summer. From handcuffing and officer safety, to policing theory and legal regulations, it was a challenging but rewarding course. By the end she had successfully attested as a special constable – something her young children were almost as excited about as she was.
“It’s my proudest moment,” she says. “I have photos of them at New Scotland Yard at my attestation. They still really like the thought that their mum does something different.”
What’s a typical day for a special constable? “For me, it could be anything,” she says. “I might be patrolling in uniform, working in plain clothes with CCTV teams, attending incidents, or going out to local businesses to see how we can help. That’s what I like best – everyday is different.”
As for her highlights, Samra points to some of the extra shifts that she’s volunteered for. “I’ve done Changing of the Guard, prime minister’s questions at the Houses of Parliament, and patrolling with regular officers.
“But probably the biggest highlight for me was the London 2012 Olympics. We did a lot of the patrols around the superyachts docked in Canary Wharf. The atmosphere in London was so great, and I was proud to be part of it.”
Life as a special constable, she says, has given her many valuable experiences and skills. Twice a year, for example, she must complete mandatory officer safety training, which includes using defibrillators in emergency life support. “It’s just a great life skill to have,” she says.
“From communications and problem solving, to customer focus and working as a team, there’s a real similarity between what I do at work and when I’m on patrol. And I have been able to transfer skills between the two roles.
“I think that’s one of the best things about being a special constable – you’re always developing and pushing new boundaries.”
Interested in becoming a volunteer police officer? To find out more and apply online, visit here.
This content was paid for and provided by the Metropolitan Police.
