Volunteer police officers to provide backup for county's trouble hotspots (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Special police officers to provide backup for Gloucestershire's trouble hotspots

3:00pm Sunday 23rd September 2012 in News

A TEAM of special police officers will be on hand to help crack-down on anti-social behaviour in the coming weeks.

The Special Constables will be out and about on Friday and Saturday nights to support full time officers and respond to incidents wherever and whenever they are needed.

The operation will take place at the end of each month to coincide with a perceived increase in antisocial behavior and disorder around when the majority of people get paid.

Section Officer Richard Godfrey explained: “The last weekend of the month coincides with pay day for a lot of people and it can often be when we see an upturn in anti-social behaviour linked to the night time economy.”

He said the team would be mobile and able to respond to incidents across the county.

“It will be a combination of proactive patrolling, deterring people from committing offences, and reactive policing, being ready to attend any incidents which put people’s safety at risk or ruins the quality of life for the community,” he added.

“The operation is called Operation Contact and that’s at the centre of what we’re trying to do – improving police visibility at busy times and providing an extra level of resilience so that the public know we are there and in close contact when they need us.”

Special Constables are volunteers with full police powers, who provide valuable support to their full time colleagues. More information on how to apply to become a special can be found at gloucestershire.police.uk .