Paul Sweet's account

Special Constable Paul Sweet lives in Chippenham, Wiltshire and works for the Ministry of Defence.

For the past 12 years Paul has been a special constable on Bath and North-East Somerset District.

In September 2000 Paul was appointed Special Constabulary Welfare Officer and is now responsible for the welfare of 50 specials based at Bath, Keynsham and Radstock. In addition, he has to assist with the training of new probationary special constables.

In Paul's own words:-

I carry out a police shift every Thursday from 7pm to 1am, working alongside regular police officers.

I enjoy my time as a special tremendously, getting involved in many varied tasks in support of my regular colleagues. In a typical week I could get involved with any number of events, but the more common ones include: -

• Helping out at special events like the opening night of the Bath Festival or the Bath Half Marathon.
• Training new special recruits through role play.
• Foot patrol supporting the beat manager, either in a residential area like Twerton or in the City centre - this could be checking alarm activations or dealing with drunks, shoplifters or groups of young people.
• Partnering a regular officer on patrol in a car - I could be attending a violent domestic incident, helping control traffic at the scene of an accident so emergency crews can do their jobs safely, breaking up a drunken brawl or helping a worried parent find a missing child.

The list is so varied and this alone makes it one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever been involved with. Being a special is my chance to help the police service fight back against crime and make this city a safer place in which to live and work.

That my small part in this process can and does make a difference to people's daily lives is satisfaction enough for me.