Page "Ulster Special Constabulary" Paragraph 11

The idea of a volunteer police force in the north appealed to British Prime Minister David Lloyd George for several practical reasons ; It freed up the RIC and military for use elsewhere in Ireland, it was cheap and thirdly, it did not need new legislation.

Special Constabulary Acts had been enacted in 1832 and 1914, meaning that the administration in Dublin Castle only had to use existing laws to create it.

The formation of the Ulster Special Constabulary was therefore announced on 22 October 1920.