A Special Constable who put his ambition to be a police officer ‘on the back burner’ for 15 years says volunteering with Northumbria Police is an ‘incredibly rewarding’ part of his life.
Speaking during Volunteers’ Week (1 June to 7 June), Steve Swindon reflected on his time as a Special and the pride of serving in an award-winning response team.
Although Steve originally planned to join the police when he was younger, life and career commitments took him in a different direction.
That aspiration stayed with him before he finally decided to join in 2024 after seeing an online recruitment advert for Specials.
Special Constable Steve Swindon on duty
Steve explained: “I was going to join up full-time, but my career path took me in a different way.
“I put it on the back burner for probably 15 years and then I saw an ad about Specials and I thought, you know what, give it a go.
“If you feel you can make a difference in something, go ahead and do it.
“As a volunteer you have the opportunity to decide if this is for me or not.
Volunteer
“I loved it from first joining. A couple of weeks after I knew it was right for me as a volunteer.
“It’s incredibly rewarding.”
Outside policing, Steve works as a value stream manager for a major pharmaceutical company.
One of the key aspects of his role is teamwork, which he says translates naturally into frontline policing.
But Steve said that the skills he has picked up as a Special help even more in his full-time role.
“I value relationships above all else, no matter where I work or what I do, and that’s a key component of dealing with people,” he said.
“Policing is not necessarily what people think it is. Being able to communicate effectively with the public is a key element to deescalation of day-to-day situations.
Empathy
“It’s about working with your team and understanding the best way to resolve the situation.
“It’s the same in my day-to-day role. I work in a team with 250 people on site at any one time.
“These skills I have in my job change over quite well, but I do bring from my police role into my job.
“That’s through dealing with people, dealing with situations, and having that empathy.”
Steve said the support of his colleagues has helped him settle into policing.
Indeed, he is part of Newcastle City C Rota, which was recognised as Team of the Year at the Newcastle Excellence Awards earlier this year.
Steve, who was also named Volunteer of the Year at the same awards, said: “I’m so proud of the team, because it’s not down to one person, it’s down to everybody.
Supervisors
“You get fantastic support from everyone, supervision as well. Everybody is really on board, from the person working next to you through to sergeants, inspectors, and everyone else.
“What was great that night was to see them all recognised collectively. I have made friends for life doing this role.”
Steve thanked his colleagues and supervisors for helping him settle quickly and supporting him outside of their own shifts.
“I don’t know if I would have stayed as a Special without the team,” he said.
“I always wanted to be one of the team. You know very quickly that you only get out what you put in.
“You’ve got to build trust and relationships with the people you work with because one day they could potentially save your life.”
He praised colleagues and supervisors for helping him progress quickly and supporting him outside of their own shifts.
Teamwork
“That’s what policing is really about, that teamwork,” he said.
Despite his passion for policing, Steve has no plans to leave his established career to become a full-time officer. Instead, he says he is embracing the unique balance volunteering offers.
He said: “I knew I was going to stay on my career pathway, and I was not going to become a full-time police officer.
“But I love being able to be a Special, stepping out of my day-to-day role and stepping into the uniform.”
And during Volunteers’ Week, he encouraged anyone considering becoming a Special Constable to take the opportunity, but to do so with the right expectations.
He said: “You’ve got to go in for the right reasons. Give it time, get to know people and put the effort in.”
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