This October we celebrate a milestone in the history of the Special Constabulary.

The Special Constables Act was passed on 15 October 1831, which put the Special Constabulary on a statutory basis for the first time.

With the same powers as their regular colleagues and wearing a similar uniform, Special Constables give up at least four hours of their spare time each week to do something positive for themselves and London. There are currently 1500 Metropolitan Special Constabulary officers in London.

Special Constables hold all the powers of a constable and with appropriate training may perform any duties. The aim is to increase to 4000 Specials by 2008.

Henrik Laidlow-Petersen is an Estate Programme Manager in the Met's Resources Directorate. He has been a Special for just over a year and works in the South Ruislip Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

Henrik says:"Being a Special has enabled me to give something back to my local community. The role is not just about making arrests but it's also about defusing and preventing crime. It never fails to amaze me how happy local residents are to see me and my colleagues on patrol - which is a huge reward in itself. I would urge anyone who wants to make a difference to their community to think about becoming a Special."

There is currently no lack of interest in joining the Specials, with over 1000 prospective candidates at various stages of the recruitment process at any one time.

The Met Special Constabulary is made up of volunteers who work with and provide valuable support to regular police officers. Volunteers enjoy new and different challenges tackling a variety of police work in London, and developing transferable skills such as problem solving, negotiating, team-working and working under pressure.

Assistant Commissioner Tim Godwin states,"We are fortunate to have a highly motivated, well-trained and equipped volunteer police resource, reflecting the community of London, who are fully integrated with their regular colleagues.

"Friday and Saturday nights are times of peak demand for policing, I am delighted that Special Constables regularly make themselves available for duties on these nights.

Specials enhance our links with local communities and provide vital support to policing operations across London."

Across the country on Friday 13 to Sunday 15 October, celebrating National Specials Weekend, volunteer police officers will be out in force. Special operations are taking place in most London boroughs, together with additional high visibility patrols and community initiatives led by volunteer officers. A celebration black tie dinner is taking place in central London on 10th October.

VIP guests from across the country are attending together with international volunteer police colleagues from Bermuda and New York.

Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Special Constabulary, John Barradell said: "For the last 175 years, Londoners have been volunteering to work with the Met to keep our communities safer. Specials come from all parts of our community and each and every one is making a real difference to our city.

"This anniversary is a brilliant opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate their immense contribution to London.

"As well as opportunities within the Special Constabulary, the development of the Met Volunteers Programme and Volunteer Police Cadets, provide new opportunities for the Service to engage effective community volunteers from the age of 14 to 90. Paid employees will always be needed to deliver core policing services but volunteers can enhance and make a very positive difference to the quality of service delivery."