Tony hangs up his special constable badge
A special constable who has given almost half a century to the role says he has had great satisfaction in being able to help people.
Tony Riggs started in his role with just a whistle and a truncheon.
Now, after 47 years during which he met his wife and clocked up between 700-800 hours service his is stepping down from West Mercia Police.
Tony, 66, from Shrewsbury, was an electrician who signed up to become Special Constable 4271 in March 1975.
“My first shift was a Friday night in Oswestry,” he said.
“We weren’t issued with handcuffs, so to show my keenness I bought my own.
“I squeezed into a Mini Clubman with six-foot-six PC Bill Foster. The highlight of the night was a man urinating into the postbox of a bank.”
He held ambitions to join the regular force but settled for life as a “Hobbie Bobbie” as Specials were affectionately dubbed. His willingness to get involved with any aspect of policing led to many great experiences.
“I attended domestics, large fights, fatal collisions and sudden deaths,” he says.
“But I only started with a whistle and truncheon so I learned a valuable lesson in how to talk to people and calm them down.”
He ran cycle proficiency training and had 17 years working with roads policing, carrying out speed enforcement and drink-drive checks.
Tony became a motorcycle instructor 1975 and then a driving examiner in 2004. He was the only Special authorised to offer driver training, something he is immensely proud of.
“Whether it’s to give people directions or road safety advice, to hold their hand when they’re frightened or to feel their collar when necessary – it has all been worthwhile.”
Tony attended many community occasions, meeting the public and representing West Mercia Police at events, including the Cosford Air Show.
“One year we took the new hand-held laser speed enforcement gun with us to show the public how well equipped we were to deal with speeding complaints,” he recalls.
“One of the displays involved a single fighter jet making low-level passes and showing us his afterburners. We wondered if our laser would record the speed of the jet, so on the next fly past, we got the device ready. An RAF officer appeared behind us and said, ‘Not the best idea gentlemen – if the jet finds itself ‘painted’ with a laser, it will automatically lock its weapons onto the target source.’ We never did find out how fast the jet was going.”
He met and married Annemarie, an officer based in Shrewsbury and Telford and who herself gave 30 years of service to West Mercia.
He was promoted to Special Sergeant, looking after as many as 14 Special Constables, and also spent 18 months as Acting Special Inspector.
For his long service, he was awarded a Divisional Commendation and was awarded the High Sherriff’s Trophy for the Best Special Officer and was nominated to represent the force at the National Awards in London.
“I have met a whole raft of wonderful and supportive people within the police, including my wife, and there is a lot of mutual respect.
“I would recommended the Specials to anyone.”
