Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent trends in Special Constabulary numbers on diversity and representation within the wider police workforce.

Police forces that reflect the communities they serve are crucial to tackling crime in a modern diverse society. The police have and continue to work hard to improve equality and diversity and the workforce is more representative than ever before.

The Special Constabulary is more ethnically diverse than other parts of the police workforce. As at 31 March 2025, 13% of Specials belong to a Black, Asian, Mixed or Other ethnic group, compared with 8.5% of officers. However, this is still lower than the general population, where 18% of people identify as belonging to a Black, Asian, Mixed or Other ethnic group.

As at 31 March 2025, 25% of special constables were female, compared to 36% of regular officers. We will continue to work with policing partners to improve representation.

The Government’s Police Reform White Paper acknowledges that volunteers bring fresh perspectives, skills and increased diversity into policing and outlines our ambition to grow the number of special constables. This includes working closely with policing to identify ways to improve and streamline recruitment processes and learning from other volunteering models to inform the continued development of police volunteering.