As a special constable, you don't have to work fixed hours or shifts. You contribute what time you can but you generally find your time taken up on Friday or Saturday nights when police are busiest.

However, you do need to do a minimum of 200 hours of operational duty every year, as well as allowing time for training. Any less, and you wouldn't gain the experience you need to be an effective volunteer police officer.

The training you'll receive is comprehensive and demanding. Your foundation training will be at the Metropolitan Police Training College at Hendon - 18 days in all, spread over 18 Sundays or completed over 18 consecutive weekdays.

There is also a considerable amount of study you'll need to do in your own time - mainly learning about the law and your powers as a uniformed officer.

As a special constable, you'll be trained and equipped to do almost the same job as a regular officer.  You'll have the same powers of arrest and the same responsibility to prevent crime, uphold the law and protect the public. 

That's quite a commitment, especially since you'll be giving up your own spare time to be a volunteer police officer.  But the rewards make it worthwhile - not the pay, but the experience you gain, the people you meet, the sense of achievement.

To imagine what you could find yourself doing as a volunteer, you only have to think about where you last saw a Metropolitan police officer. Patrolling the local area, answering a call for assistance, helping a member of the public, conducting enquiries into an incident, controlling the crowds at a ceremonial or sporting event. Then there's the side of the job you may not have seen. A reassuring visit to a burglary victim, giving evidence in court and, of course, the paperwork.

Your chief role is to support regular police officers in their job which, in turn, frees them for work demanding their wider skills and experience. Often though, you'll be working alongside them, facing the same situations and challenges.

Special constables come from all walks of life and all sections of society - they are people who want to get involved and are prepared to make a commitment. They help make London a better place to live and work for everyone.

If you want to know how to become a Special and what to expect from the job or to find out whether the Special Constabulary is right for you, or to tell a friend, visit the Metropolitan Police Special Constabulary recruitment pages.