The county’s most senior police officer has said a landmark reserve force, consisting of retired police officers, part-time firefighters and ex-military personnel, could be up-and-running in a matter of months.
Northamptonshire Police plans to launch the first police reservist force on mainland UK, as part of a drive to boost police numbers.
Police and Crime Commissioner, Adam Simmonds, says he wants to establish a force of up to 200 reservists, all fully trained and paid to carry out police work on a certain number of days a year.
The pioneering idea would be a first in England and Wales, with only Northern Ireland having anything similar.
Speaking this week, Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police, Adrian Lee, said he backed the idea.
He told a meeting of the police and crime panel this week how reservists could be quickly recruited by targeting retired former police officers, special constables, firefighters and ex-soldiers and military personnel.
He said the reservists would be fully uniformed officers, with full powers of arrest.
Mr Lee said a lot of the detail of their powers would need to be looked at, but said there was little reason the idea could not become reality sooner rather than later.
He said: “I think we could recruit these people relatively quickly, train them for the job they want to do and get them on the streets within two or three months.”
Mr Simmonds has pledged to spend more than £4.1m over the next three years to expand the police cadets and special constabulary and create the reserve police force.
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