THE honorary police is currently 57% recruited with 11 out of 12 parish forces below their complement and keen to recruit more officers to its ranks.
The centuries-old institution, which long predates its full-time and paid equivalent on Route du Fort, is keen to show that it is a modern, essential, varied and valuable, not only supporting the community but also saving it money.
Without it, the force collectively points out, everything from festivals to motoring would be more expensive. And who can account for the cost of safer roads, its informal system of justice and the parochial spirit that it promotes and enhances.
But out of a population of 103,000, there are just currently just 179 officers, well short of its complement of 311.
Standing before the Royal Court during a recent Visite Royale, St Ouen Chef de Police Robert Hall eloquently set out the challenge facing the parish.
He said: “When I started, I was one of six new recruits and we joined an Honorary team of around 14. Today, there are nine of us.
Since the pandemic there has certainly been a decline in volunteering which we share with other organisations across Jersey.
Centenier Robert Hall
“We have mounted recruitment initiatives in the parish and alongside colleagues at the Boat Show, with the support of the Honorary Police Association, but to date we have only been able to welcome one new officer in the past two years.
“The reasons for the lack of interest are probably for discussion on other occasions, but since the pandemic there has certainly been a decline in volunteering which we share with other organisations across Jersey.”
Centenier Hall continued: “Naturally, a shortage of bodies means more pressures on the team. However, a commitment to the parish, and to the Islandwide honorary service, coupled with true professionalism, has meant that we have continued to fulfil the duties required of us, and often go beyond as we seek new ways to improve what we do.”
One of those, he went onto say, was greater cooperation with other parishes. For some, it may come as a disappointment that the authority of an honorary force does not stop at the parish border.
On the contrary, Article 5A of the Honorary Police Law allows for a Constable or Centenier to request assistance from other parishes. It now means that a Trinity officer may help with a St Ouen speed-check, or a St Helier officer will police an event in St Clement.
It is not the only way the Honorary Police is modernising. Officers now wear body-worn cameras and are standardising uniforms across the 12 forces.
One officer keen to present the honoraries as a relevant force-for-good is Trinity Chef de Police Oliver Simmons.
The 39-year-old does, perhaps, bridge the old with the new, in that he is a farmer working in rural St Martin but that is where any stereotype ends.
The former merchant mariner is determined to play his part in making the honorary police not only fit for purpose but also an attractive voluntary ‘career’ for any wanting to give something back to their community.
He said: “I don’t think the public is fully aware of how involved the honorary police is in Island life. Some events would just not be able to go ahead without us, and we save the Island a huge amount of money.
“I think we need to show more of that; there was a recruitment video a couple of years ago which showed us chasing cows and while, yes, we sometimes have to do that, our work attending accidents, carrying out licensing checks, deciding if someone should be prosecuted or not, and supporting events is far more common and important.
“Yes, we occasionally have to chase the odd sheep and cow but without us, an event would have to pay the paid police or a private security firm for it to go ahead.”
Centenier Simmons continued: “We are a lot more integral to Island life than people might think. The parish hall enquiry system stops people having a permanent record and is an excellent way to deal will under-18s.
“We are also a modern force – we wear body cameras now, which removes the ‘he said / she said’ element, and we’re also looking at moving to electronic notepads. We are standardising uniforms across the Island because the public don’t really differentiate between the forces.
“We actually have more powers than the State of Jersey police, including the power to set bail and remand. We also decide whether someone should be charged or not, often after considering the advice of the Law Officers.”
After his career at sea, Mr Simmons is now a farmer based at La Haie Fleurie in St Martin, where he grows grass and cereal for the dairy and equine sectors. He also runs the livery yard and contracts out vehicles and machinery to other farmers.
He said: “I originally joined when I was in the Merchant Navy, when I was working a month on and a month off. I wanted to help my parish and that still motivates me to this day. However, today’s policing is not restricted to your parish; last week we had officers at the Gorey Fete and it was great to work alongside colleagues from other forces.”
Centenier Simmons said that Trinity was one of the better recruited parishes, with 17 officers out of a complement of 21.
“Trinity has always had pretty good numbers, and we have picked up a bit recently,” he said. “We have teachers, farmers, accountants, doctors, retirees, civil servants and even DVS traffic officers among our ranks; it’s a diverse range of backgrounds and skills.
“We have officers who just want to cover weddings, funerals and community events; equally, we have officers who prefer the traffic side of things, such as speed and vehicle checks, and patrols. Others prefer the night-time economy side of things.
“So, it doesn’t mean you have to do everything, neither do you have to do one thing. We don’t restrict officers at all – there is a vast number of opportunities.”
He continued: “As a Constable’s Officer in Trinity, you work one week in five, when you can’t drink and need to be on call. For Centeniers, it is one in four. For a CO, that commitment could be three or four hours, once you’re over the hump of training.
“Of course, if you’ve got holidays booked, it’s straightforward to swap shifts. The only thing that isn’t flexible is your three-year commitment because you swear an oath before the Royal Court that you’ll honour your term. That said, if your circumstances change, then the Attorney General can review your position.”
One thing that Centenier Simmons did feel needed to be reviewed was the way the honorary police is resourced.
He said: “We are completely funded by our respective parish; we receive mandatory training by the [States] police but each parish is charged for that service. The parishes also have to purchase their own radios, whereas my understanding is that St John’s Ambulance, which use a similar radio to ours, get them provided by the Ambulance Service.
“People do not realise the costs. Some parishes seem nervous to publish their honorary police budgets but I think we should to show our value to the Island, because it is considerable.”
Vingtenier Ben Wheaton is a St Helier Honorary Officer and President of the Jersey Honorary Police Association.
He said: “There are around 35 officers in St Helier with a complement of 51. While we have the numbers for Centeniers and Vingteniers, we need Constable’s Officers. It is the same across all parishes.
“Personally, I joined to give something back to the community. Some also use it as a stepping stone to a career in the SoJP, while others move in the other direction.
“You gain so many skills, such as communication, leadership, conflict management, problem solving and understanding more about mental health, and you deal with a wide variety of incidents. You definitely develop as a person as well as an officer.”
He added: “We have officers aged 20 to 76; it is a diverse demographic. Yet we all have the common goal to help our parish, make events run smoothly, manage the unexpected and relieve pressure on the States police.”
In his day job, Vingtenier Wheaton is an emergency services control centre operator, dealing with 999 calls and sending the appropriate police response. He firmly believes that his honorary experience helped him to secure the role.
The job has helped in other ways. “I certainly do all I can to strengthen the relationship between the paid police and honorary police,” he said. “Each service has a lot to offer the other.”
Vingtenier Wheaton said that the honorary force collectively was looking to recruit new people from all employment sectors.
“We are reaching out to employers to highlight the mutual benefits to their organisation as well as the individual. As a government employee, I am given time to volunteer and I would encourage more businesses to do the same, if they don’t already.”
“The time commitment depends on the parish but it really is the case that you can give as little or as much time as you are able to.”
