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Contact: [email protected] 1 THE EXPERIENCES AND MORALE OF METROPOLITAN SPECIAL CONSTABLES. AN ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH VOLUNTEER OFFICER JOB MOTIVATION AND RETENTION by Jason Prins Canterbury Christchurch University Thesis submitted for the degree of MSc by Research 2018 2 Abstract Special constables have a long established history within British policing. Today, they hold full police powers and are an important part of the police workforce across all areas in England and Wales. The Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC) is the largest in the country. One in four special constables nationally belong to the MSC and in 2015 they provided London with over half a million policing hours. Since 2012, the number of special constables in the MSC has fallen by 40 per cent. Despite their longevity, special constabularies are under researched and the factors associated with volunteer officer motivation and retention are pooly understood. In spite of the high levels of attrition, successive governments have promoted the benefits of special constabularies in terms of increasing legitimacy, fostering responsibilisation, and reducing costs, and encouraged forces to run regular recruitment campaigns to boost the size and capability of their special constabularies. This study uses qualitative interviewing to explore the experiences and motivations of current and former MSC officers and to understand the factors that impact upon retention. The thesis uses Clary et al.‘s (1998) functional multifactor model of volunteer motivation, widely accepted in the volunteer field, as a lens through which to analyse the results. The study highlights varying degrees of satisfaction with being a special constable and suggests that training, deployment, integration and recognition are all important factors in the morale of special constables and their commitment to further service. The study suggests that functional motivational principles are not being applied to the special constabulary. The thesis concludes by making a number of recommendations to the Metropolitan Police Service to assist in improving the morale and retention of MSC officers. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to make the following acknowledgements: Firstly, to my supervisor Dr Emma Williams, who has encouraged and supported me from my first day on the BSc Policing programme at Canterbury Christchurch University in September 2011, through to this project. To the Metropolitan Police Service Research and Evidence Based Policing Unit for the bursary across both years of the project. I hope the results will be of use. To those MSC officers (past and present) who replied to my request for participants, and especially those who took part in the interviews. Thank you for your time and insight. I hope this study plays a part in delivering some of the changes that you spoke about. To the MSC co-ordinator who provided valuable insight on the MSC and facilitated access to participants. And finally, to my wife Cassie, who has provided immense support throughout the last two years. Your encouragement to continue despite the events of the last 8 months have undoubtedly got me to this point. 4 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. 3 Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 7 Research Context and Problem Identification ....................................................................... 7 Research Aims ......................................................................................................................... 8 Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 9 Theoretical Approach .............................................................................................................. 9 Thesis Overview .................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2 Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 12 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 12 The History of Volunteering ................................................................................................. 12 A Brief History of Volunteering within Policing ................................................................... 13 The Current Policing Volunteer Agenda ............................................................................... 17 Responsibilisation ..................................................................................................... 17 Efficiency .................................................................................................................. 19 Community ............................................................................................................... 21 Theories of Volunteer Motivation ........................................................................................ 22 Previous Research on the Special Constabulary .................................................................. 25 The Lack of Research into Police Volunteerism ................................................................... 28 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 3 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 30 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 30 Police Research ..................................................................................................................... 30 Philosophical Approach ........................................................................................................ 31 Research Method .................................................................................................................. 33 The Metropolitan Special Constabulary ............................................................................... 35 Type of Interview ................................................................................................................. 36 Interview Practicalities ......................................................................................................... 37 How Many Interviews to Conduct? ...................................................................................... 38 5 Sampling Approach ............................................................................................................... 39 Analytical Approach .............................................................................................................. 44 Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................................... 45 Personal Refections ............................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 4 Training .............................................................................................................................. 49 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 49 Foundation Training .............................................................................................................. 49 Variable Quality of Training ...................................................................................... 50 Administrative Errors ................................................................................................ 52 Ready for Operational Duties? 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