Volunteer's delight at scooping Special Constable of the Year award

A special constable who helped make Nottinghamshire safer by volunteering over 400 hours of his free time has been recognised for his “simply brilliant” work.

Mason Beall clocked up 435 hours as a special constable in just a few months, assisting regular police officers on the frontline.

Last year, he was rewarded with a full-time job as a police officer – and now he’s been further rewarded with a prestigious award.

Mason was crowned Special Constable of the Year at the Nottinghamshire Police Force Awards, held on 25 April.

The 20-year-old said: “I feel really privileged to have won this award. I didn’t realise I had been nominated for it to begin with, I was simply doing what I was passionate about, as do all Special Constables across the force.”

Special constables have the same power, uniform and responsibilities as regular paid police officers but volunteer on a part-time basis.

They take part in frontline police work, spending much of their time on the streets, doing intelligence-based patrols in crime hotspots or taking part in crime-prevention initiatives.

By giving up so much of his spare time, Mason – who also completed 97 hours as a cadet leader in 2021/22 – has played a vital role in making communities safer.

He was nominated by Special Sergeant Rory Simpson, who said: “Mason is simply brilliant. He works really hard within Nottinghamshire Police to ensure he can help others wherever he can.

“For example, he’s often taken extra time out of what he originally planned in order to run cadet sessions if we were short on leaders. He would come in at very late notice and he’d never complain.

“He works extra hard at everything he does and we can’t thank him enough. He always did what he could to inspire the young minds of the cadets and share his experiences of policing and the cadet programme.

“Alongside cadets, Mason supported regular colleagues and specials across the county in a variety of ways before himself becoming a regular officer.

“This included giving up over 400 hours of his free time in only a few months in order to assist at a number of proactive police operations and engagement events.

“In that time, he engaged with hundreds of young people, answering questions, providing advice and giving students a tour of our vehicle and kit.

“Some of the students said Mason had inspired them to want to join the police. The feedback he’s had has been amazing.”

A full list of this year’s Nottinghamshire Police Force Awards winners can be found in the event programme, which can be downloaded below.