Employer Supported Policing (ESP)

ESP is a national scheme supported by the Home Office. It is a partnership that benefits employers, their staff and Kent Police by releasing special constables to volunteer in the Kent community. The scheme asks organisations to consider releasing their staff who volunteer by giving them paid leave to undertake their volunteer police duties and/or the required training. Once trained, these special constables will carry out patrols around Kent with full police powers.

Benefits

In return, employers receive a highly skilled, highly trained member of staff - benefits that cannot be bought commercially. They carry out their usual 'day job' at their workplace, but now have the benefit of police training and experience, bringing with it a knowledge and skills that are transferable into their professional discipline including: 

• assertiveness
• computer skills
• confidence
• conflict and crisis management
• decision making
• effective communication
• leadership and management
• negotiating effectively
• personal responsibility
• prioritisation of demands
• problem solving
• remaining calm under pressure
• self-confidence
• team work
• time-management
• understanding of the law

as well as better links with local police teams and senior officers.

The level of commitment your organisation makes can be flexible, with our existing partner employers supporting varying levels of time, so please contact us about how you can support the programme.

Please give us feedback on the business impact of your staff taking part in ESP so that we can measure the success of the project.