§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the role of special constables. [531121
§ Mr. DenhamThe proposals in the White Paper "Policing a New Century: A blueprint for Reform" set out a radical and ambitious programme of reform, with the overall aim of reducing crime and the fear of crime and tackling anti-social behaviour. The Government believe that the special constabulary has a key role to play in the fight against crime and the fear of crime. We are accordingly introducing a range of measures to improve the recruitment and retention of specials. These include improvements to the recruitment, training, conditions, management and deployment of specials2014;focusing their role on intelligence-led patrolling and local crime reduction initiatives.