VOLUNTEER POLICE OFFICERS PRAISED FOLLOWING RIOTS

Police forces were stretched during the public disorder, and volunteer police officers in the West Midlands worked around the clock to help restore peace.

One such special constable is Lizzie Bishop, 26, a full-time personal travel expert at Kuoni Travel, Solihull. During the riots, Lizzie worked 20 hours, helping to support the regular officers who were all working 12-hour shifts.

In that time, she helped to deal with flare-ups of violence outside Birmingham city centre, involving outbreaks of large groups causing disturbances across Birmingham South; Northfield, Selly Oak, and Edgbaston.

Special constables are usually expected to carry out 16 hours a month, but Lizzie undertook 20 hours of service in just a matter of days, on top of her normal 40-hour week at Kuoni.

A special constable has all the powers of a regular officer, but is entirely voluntary, and they give their time to help police serve the public.

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. It was scary, but also very sad to see,” said Lizzie.

“It was especially sad for me to see the shops that had been smashed up, as I work in retail myself and could imagine how the owners and staff of those businesses would be feeling,” added Lizzie.

She described Kuoni as being “very supportive” of her job with the police, and said she was able to leave work early on a day that she was called in to support the regular force.

Mary Janiec, Store Manager of Kuoni Travel Solihull, was full of praise for Lizzie’s contribution:

“I can’t speak highly enough about the remarkable job Lizzie carried out. To give her time freely to support our police force and community is a quite remarkable gesture. We are all incredibly proud of her!”

Lizzie began her special constable training in March, and only completed it in July. She said she felt the job was highly rewarding, commenting:
“I get to interact with different local communities and to meet people from different cultures.

“It also keeps me in touch with all the local businesses, and it’s great to interact with different people in the area. I understand the challenges they face and that helps me in my work too,” she added.

For now, it is back to normal in Birmingham, but Lizzie, and other special constables like her, continue to provide vital support to our police forces.