New chief appointed to lead South Yorkshire's 'Specials'

Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes has officially appointed Stephen Merrett to the post, and Mr Merrett said his promotion was the culmination of a "personal ambition".

South Yorkshire's specials were recently recognised by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) as the best team and Mr Merrett said he planned to build on that position.

Mr Merrett's day job is Community Policing Development Officer in the Community Safety Department based in Sheffield city centre, and he has been a Special for four years.

He was previously logistics manager for a national company. Senior officers said his "dedication and leadership" had led to more specials spending time on the beat.

Figures show that his work has seen a rise in time committed by special constables to 49,000 hours, which the force said was equivalent to 1.16m worth of free policing.

The force said his efforts had also led to an "increase in the professionalism and skills base of the 218 staff currently volunteering".

Supt Eddie Murphy, who oversees the work of South Yorkshire special constabulary said: "He has worked tirelessly for the last year in overseeing the rise in the reputation of our specials.

"They are now recognised by the ACPO lead for the Special Constabulary, ACC Michael Banks, as the best team in the North East region and one of the top-performing nationally."

Mr Merrett said of his appointment: "I am immensely proud to have met with the chief constable and am proud of attaining the rank of chief officer.

"The special constabulary in South Yorkshire has been taken to a new level in the past 12 months and I look forward to further enhancing the credibility of a resource that can be relied upon."

Specials in South Yorkshire provide a variety of support roles to regular officers and now provide cover for Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United matches

Eight officers are also based with the Roads Policing Group and 16 are trained to pull vehicles over using marked police cars with lights and sirens which is a first in Britain.