ABSTRACT
Fairly extensive coverage of this aspect of the police service will be made here, since it is a relatively understudied subject13 and, it is submitted, warrants discussion here. The special constabulary is a very old institution which, in its original form, pre-dates the formation of the Metropolitan Police in 1829 by over 150 years. Although the early justices of the peace and Lords of the Manor were expected to appoint officers to enforce the law, they frequently neglected this duty and, in 1673, a statute was passed, which enabled two magistrates to appoint special constables within their respective districts. However, it was the Special Constables Act 1831 which placed this force on the general footing upon which the modern special constabulary is now based. Since then, the ‘specials’, as they are commonly termed, have achieved notable places within the history of the modern police service. For example, in 1848, the largest single enrolment of special constables occurred in response to fears of serious disorder arising from the Chartist movement. This resulted in no fewer than 170,000 specials being deployed in central London. The anticipated trouble was averted, since the number of specials outnumbered the protestors by over three to one. It was during both World Wars that the specials particularly excelled and often formed the bulwark of operational policing throughout many parts of the country. However, they were also involved in other high profile roles during certain events between the war years. From 1919 to 1926, they assisted in maintaining order during a series of major industrial disputes, including the General Strike, and, during the early 1930s, they were used extensively during a series of demonstrations in London resulting from mass unemployment.14
