Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with Essex Police on introducing community special constables in Essex.
The Home Secretary and I have regular bilateral meetings with the Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), the body which is responsible for the Citizens in Policing Programme, as well as the College of Policing, which supports the programme and is responsible for special constables and police volunteers at a national level.
The National Strategy for the Special Constabulary (2018-2023) details the NPCC's committment to making better use of special constables, for the benefit of forces, communities and individual volunteers.