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You will be based at our training college in Maidstone where we will provide you with all of the skills and knowledge required to become a warranted special constable at ‘Accompanied Patrol Status’ (APS).
You will then transfer to a policing division, where you will have the same powers and equipment as a regular police officer. While working on division, you will complete an ‘operational competence portfolio’ providing evidence to demonstrate your abilities to perform core policing functions safely, lawfully and competently.
After you have attested (by making a declaration before a Justice of the Peace, you can then choose which area you would like to police in Kent. Find out more about Kent Police jurisdiction and unique responsibilities.
You will transfer to a policing division, where you will complete an ‘operational competence portfolio’. You will provide evidence to demonstrate your abilities to perform core policing functions safely, lawfully and competently. You will be supported by the special constable team, as well as other qualified tutor constables. The portfolio is assessed to a qualification standard and it will be your aim to complete it whilst learning the role in a real-life practical environment.
Once successfully completed, you will achieve ‘Directed Patrol Status’ (DPS) which will enable you to carry out policing duties more flexibly. This does not equate to full independence or full competence in the role. Special constables who have achieved DPS will only be deployed on their own or as part of a team in a supervised environment. DPS is also the ‘progression gateway’ into phase two of the programme.
You will then undertake more advanced classroom training in the five core policing principles:
To demonstrate full independent competence and become a qualified special constable you can choose to complete work based assessment portfolios in as many of the five areas as you wish.
You will need to undertake learning in all five areas to become a qualified special constable. You can choose less than five core areas however, you will not receive fully-qualified status. To demonstrate full independent competence in the core principles, you will need to undergo a further work-based assessment.
All training sessions are hosted at the Kent Police College and are run from 9am to 5pm.