Funds for more special constables / BBC, 20 August 2008

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7572259.stm

"An extra 6,000 special police constables are to be recruited with £2.25m government funding. The boost will take the total number of special police in England and Wales to 20,000 over the next three years. The constables are volunteers who serve alongside police officers on the streets of local communities. The Home Office said the money would be used to assist initiatives involving the recruitment, training and development of special constables."