South Wales Police Museum

Contrary to popular folklore the Special Constabulary is not a new institution, its origins date back several hundred years to Anglo-Saxon times when people policed themselves according to the customs of their tribe.

Under common law every able bodied person in Great Britain has a duty to go and help a police officer when required. This duty has been embodied in the Special Constabulary, an auxiliary police force made up from members of the public trained in police duties, and hastily sworn in by local magistrates to help the police if required.

The legal statutes for the Special Constabulary have been in place since the seventeenth century, however it was not until the two World Wars of the last century, that the Special Constabulary finally achieved the recognition it deserved as a valuable and integral part of the permanent police.