Volunteering Matters has been published to showcase the non-uniformed police volunteers activity within the police service, as well as provide articles and ideas for practitioners who manage and support volunteers.
Feel free to download the latest and previous editions of Volunteering Matters from our archives below.
Volunteering Matters farewell
A farewell from Tina Shelton, the Editor of Volunteering Matters as she announces the last edition of Volunteering Matters and we look back at 10 years of Volunteering Matters.
Emergency services launch cardiac arrest awareness campaign on the Yorkshire coast
North Yorkshire Police Volunteers working with all three emergency services on the Yorkshire Coast have launched a Cardiac Arrest Awareness Campaign which includes encouraging local businesses, schools and sports facilities to install life-saving defibrillators accessible 24 hours a day.
Lord Ferrers Awards 2021
The Lord Ferrers Awards celebrates the contributions of Police Support Volunteers, Special Constables, Volunteer Police Cadets, and volunteers supporting the work of Police and Crime Commissioners.
Lancashire Volunteer Partnership Case Study: COVID-19 Marshal
Richard and his wife are both NHS responders, and in early January 2021, were both looking for more opportunities to help. He found Lancashire Volunteer Partnership (LVP) through an online search and applied for the Covid-19 Marshal volunteering role.
Covid volunteering
PSVs from Greater Manchester Police, Devon & Cornwall and other police forces have been volunteering at vaccination hubs.
Sussex Police Volunteers Supporting Vulnerable Victims and Witnesses
With the impact of Covid-19 and a national lockdown, courts closed for trials which not only caused a significant backlog in cases, but also meant that victims and witnesses had to wait to give evidence.
Citizens in Policing recognised in the Queen's New Year's Honours List
An Essex member of Police Staff, Jenny Brouard, who oversees Volunteer Police Cadets and Volunteers, will receive the British Empire Medal for her voluntary and charitable services.
School jumpers swapped for a hi-vis
The newest cohort of Mini Police have swapped school jumpers for hi-vis vests and been ‘sworn’ in as they join Northumbria Police’s ranks. First launched in 2018, the Mini Police recruits schoolchildren from across the region.
Lancashire Cadet Leader saves a life
In June 2020, during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Ellen became aware of a male she passed several times while carrying out her daily business, near to a motorway bridge she drove across. Without realising it at the time, Ellen was able to call upon the training and experiences she had learned from Cadets. She managed to remain calm and engage the man in conversation.
GMP Scambusters continue to support throughout COVID-19
The GMP Scambusters Team has not only continued to volunteer throughout Covid-19, but has expanded. Three volunteers that were already in the recruitment process pre- lockdown, together with four volunteers who cannot at this time return to their core roles, have joined the current 10 strong team to make a team of 17 Scambusters.
North Yorkshire Police share volunteers with multi-agency partners
North Yorkshire Police are working in partnership with York Council and the Voluntary Sector to pool their vetted volunteers to support welfare checks. They offered up their volunteers who are fully vetted and ready to be deployed to fill the void as other organisations recruit, vet and induct their own volunteers.
Remembering Joh 'Gripper' Hancock
John had a lifelong connection with Wiltshire Police having joined as a Police Cadet in 1965 before serving as a Police Officer from 1968 through to his retirement in 1997.
Sussex Volunteers help victims of fraud
With fraud being the fastest growing crime type, there are thousands of victims each year in Sussex. Now some 23 volunteers will be officially joining Sussex Police and they’ll work with officers to contact local individuals and businesses who have recently reported scams to Action Fraud.
City of London Police Reserves
As Student Special Constable are attested and then complete a 7 month Initial learning programme; it was identified that they were an untapped resource and they could be utilised during their training.
International Conference on Volunteering in Public Safety
Practitioners from the Citizens in Policing Programme in the UK, and colleagues from across the world came together recently for a Volunteering Conference hosted by the Institute of Public Safety Crime and Justice (IPSCJ).
Lifewise Volunteers scoop top award
Two volunteers based within South Yorkshire Police Community Safety Department have been awarded a Community Achievement Award by Voluntary Action Rotherham in recognition of their hard work as part of the Crucial Crew Programme at the Lifewise Centre.
Mini police from Gateshead
Mini Police in the North East have helped their local Force to make a soap opera in a bid to help crime prevention efforts. Northumbria Police recruited budding actors from Chopwell Mini Police to help remind the public about basic ways to prevent a burglary in their home.
Lancashire Volunteer Partnership
The LVP partnership is unique, there are no other public services across the UK who have used this approach to volunteering and Lancashire is seen as leading the way around the integration of a Public Service Volunteer offer.
Cumbria Constabulary Citizens in Policing Awards 2019
The remarkable achievements of a number of Citizens in Policing were recognised at the Citizens in Policing Awards ceremony which was held on 3rd June 2019 during National Volunteers week.
Northumbria farmer celebrates 35 years of public service
A farmer who saved the life of a man, stopped a raging bull and has helped catch organised crime gangs is celebrating 35 years of public service - as one of Northumbria Police’s longest serving volunteers! Special Constable Michael Scott, joined Northumbria Police in 1983 and has been a volunteer with the Force for more than 35 years.
Northumbria Mini Police visit Police control room
Some of Northumbria Police’s youngest volunteers have been learning more about how police control rooms work. PCSO Tim Cousins, who makes up part of the Wallsend Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), arranged for a group of Mini Police Volunteers from St Columba’s RC Primary School to visit the Northern Communications base.
GMP recognises International Women's Day
A team of suffragette enthusiasts performed re-enactments and songs to an audience at GMPs Serious Crime Department at Nexus House. Organised by Superintendent Nicky Porter and the association of Women in Policing (aWP), the event showed women’s struggle to get the vote and encourage women’s rights.
GMP recruit Senior Scam Busters to takle fraud
A band of volunteers have been recruited by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to give peer-to-peer support to older victims of fraud and cyber-crime. The Senior Scam Busters, which comprises of 10 predominantly older and retired people, will be trained to give fraud advice and guidance as well as signpost people to specific agencies when necessary.
Meet Fairfax County (USA) Volunteers
The US Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) Program was established in 1999 to utilise Volunteers to supplement the administrative operations within policing. The Fairfax County Volunteers Scheme has around 80-90 volunteers and they give around 60 hours per year (around 5 hours per month).
New Citizens in Policing National NPCC lead is appointed
Chief Constable Lisa Winward takes over the role from former Chief Constable, Dave Jones, who retired earlier this year. Her appointment was confirmed in September by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Staffordshire Cadet Leaders awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service
Staffordshire Police Cadets adult leaders have been given the royal seal of approval – after being awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. The honour is the equivalent of an MBE for voluntary groups.
Police Support Volunteers recognised at Annual Citizens in Policing Awards 2018
GMP’s Chief Constable, Ian Hopkins QPM, hosted the annual Citizens in Policing Awards 2018 during National Volunteers Week. There are 11 categories to nominate in and the Police Support Volunteer Individual and Team category winners are featured.
South African adventure for Westminster award winning Cadet
A Derbyshire Constabulary Volunteer Police Cadet, Naomi Eyre, has beaten off tough competition in Somerset to win a place on a trip to South Africa after reaching the finals of the National CVQO Westminster Award.
Force appoints first female High Sheriff Cadet
Teenager Victoria Delahunt has been appointed as Leicestershire Police’s first female High Sheriff Cadet, after joining the force’s Volunteer Police Cadet programme two years ago.
Police Support Volunteer receives Derbyshire Constabulary Award
Deborah Lush became a PSV two and a half years ago. She serves as a customer care volunteer based in the equality unit at Derbyshire HQ, alongside the Police Link Officer for the Deaf (PLOD), who supports people that are hearing impaired. A member of the deaf community, she is passionate about improving and developing the link between the police and the deaf community.
Citizens in Policing
A volunteer policing initiative that will see 19 pilot projects delivered across 24 police Forces has launched, thanks to funding from the Police Transformation Fund.
Durham volunteer completes 30th Great North Run
A huge congratulation to Valerie Beakon, who is one of the volunteers at Durham Constabulary, on completing her 30th Great North Run.
Sussex Police & Fire and Rescue Service host garden party for volunteers
Sussex Police and East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service hosted a tea party to celebrate their volunteers. Volunteers from both services were invited to attend and share light refreshments with their Chief Of cers in the gardens at the joint headquarters in Lewes.
Volunteers signed up to raise awareness of cyber crime
Lancashire Police has signed up more than 30 volunteers to deliver basic cyber and digital presentations to various communities around the county.
A&S volunteers wins United Nations award
The Senior Citizen Liaison Team (SCLT) of Avon and Somerset Constabulary is among the winners to receive the prestigious UN Public Service Award on Friday 23rd June, for its initiative to provide specialised, protective, fraud education services for the older adult population of the South West Region.
National Crime Agency Specials
Faye Clough, National Crime Agency (NCA) Specials and Volunteers Manager gives Volunteering Matters an overview of the programme and the Volunteers’ contributions.
Derbyshire's Volunteer of the Year
Natalia Witczak, a Shirebrook resident who gives up her time to help police communicate with the area’s diverse population has won derbyshire Constabulary’s first Volunteer of the year Award.
GMP Volunteer Police Cadets Annual Competition
The inaugural Greater Manchester Police Volunteer Police Cadet Annual Competition took place recently at GMP's Training Centre, Sedgely Park. 130 Cadets representing 13 units from across Greater Manchester and Derbyshire took part.
A year in the lives of Trafford Volunteer Police Cadets
In 2016 the Cadets assisted the Police Training Centre at Sedgley Park on nine occasions by role acting for the Special Constabulary Skills Development Exercises. This also enabled the Cadets to develop their own knowledge of the areas being assessed whilst role acting.
North Wales Volunteer reflects on unique role
Ashley Harding is a 26-year-old undergraduate student. He is a volunteer at North Wales Police, but his role is unique as it is believed to be the only one of its kind in the UK. He currently volunteers within the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) division; a trust who strive to promote a safer North Wales by supporting local communities.
Lancashire Police launch rural mounted volunteers
Rural crime is one of the Neighbourhood Policing priorities being tackled in Ribble Valley. To combat this, officers have spent the last 12 months creating an initiative which will increase community involvement in order to support the constabulary in rural crime prevention.
Cleveland Police Cadets win national awards
Cleveland Police Cadets have beaten stiff competition to win a second national award for their work with people living with dementia in the local community.
Police Support Volunteer awarded for act of bravery
Friday 1 May 2015 was just a normal day for Barrie Charters-Rowe, 73, as he was travelling home with his wife Trish, until he came across a road accident on Narborough Road in Leicester.
Bedfordshire Cadets scoop national award
Bedfordshire Police Cadets have scooped the High Sheriffs’ Association of England and Wales National Crime beat Award 2015/2016 for their outstanding contribution to helping to reduce crime and creating a safer community.
Neighbourhood Watch Conference
The Neighbourhood Watch conference took place in December 2015, the objective of the event was to make sure that their key volunteers, police and other important partners have a shared understanding of where they are now, why they need to start doing some things differently and how they plan to take this forward.
GMP museum record high visitors
The Museum was founded in 1981. It not only collects and preserves archive material and objects relating to the history of policing in the Greater Manchester area, but acts as an important resource for community engagement, where visitors can talk to staff and volunteers about policing.
Police Support Volunteer honoured at Downing Street event
A Warwickshire Police Support Volunteer has been nominated as a North Warwickshire and Bedworth Community Champion and was invited to 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister.
West Midlands University students win police gap year in landmark project
A group of Coventry students will swap lectures for law and order after landing a year-long placement with West Midlands Police. In a UK-first initiative, 12 undergraduates from Coventry University and Coventry University College will be sworn in as Special Constables and handed a gap-year working with the city’s police force.
North Yorkshire Volunteers Face Freezing Weather
In North Yorkshire, more than 40 farmers and Watch volunteers, representing Borderwatch, Thirsk Valewatch, Girsby Watch, Bedale Watch and Stokesley Watch, worked alongside officers from North Yorkshire Police and five other police forces as part of Operation Checkpoint on one of the coldest nights of the year.
Northumbria Volunteers to help curb speeding
Volunteers from Northumberland villages have been quick to step up to the mark to help keep speeding motorists at bay. The Northumbria Police Community Speed Watch (CSW) scheme has recruited 31 locals from Morpeth, Alnwick, Berwick and Hexham who will assist officers tackling speeding in local areas.
Volunteers Support Scenes of Crime
State of the art crime scene investigation boxes have been introduced for Post Mortems and Crime Scenes in West Yorkshire after volunteers gave up their time to lend their expertise to the force. These boxes are affectionately known as Red and Green boxes.
Telephone Befriending Service
In 2012, Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) and Avon and Somerset Police began a joint telephone befriending service. It has run as a pilot for two years and is now business as usual. The idea is that police call handlers identify vulnerable adults who contact the Constabulary about non-police matters and offer them over-the-phone support from RVS telephone volunteers.
Celebrating National Volunteers Week with our Citizens in Policing Profiles
National Volunteers’ Week is an annual event which took place this year on 1-7 June. It celebrates the contribution made by millions of Volunteers across the UK. Volunteering Matters would like to take the opportunity to showcase some of our Citizens in Policing who give their time aspolice volunteers.
Guest Article - Lions Club International
This issue we welcome an overview of the Lions Club International, which is the world’s largest voluntary service organisation with 1.34 Million members in some 208 countries and geographic areas.
Citizens in Policing Conference 2014
The Citizens in Policing Conference 2014 was held 28/29 January 2014 where some 140 delegates, including practitioners, ACPO officers and Police and Crime Commissioners, attended. The conference offered lots of opportunity for delegates to network and share good practice.
Proud of Stockport - Rita Armin
The ‘Proud of Stockport’ Awards 2014 took place in the Town Hall Ballroom on 4th February 2014. Rita Armin, a Police Support Volunteer with Greater Manchester Police was the winner of the Special Police Award category.
GMP Cadets involved in bringing Christmas Cheer
GMP Cadets helped wrap Christmas hampers filled with food and winter essentials which were delivered to vulnerable and elderly people across Greater Manchester, bringing some cheer to those who may not otherwise see a friendly face over the festive period.
Cash boost for Kent Search and Rescue volunteers
The invaluable support given to the force by volunteers at Kent Search and Rescue (KSAR) was recognised recently with a £1,000 donation.
Volunteer success at National Ferrers Awards 2013
The Lord Ferrers Awards 2013 were held in June at Westminster. These annual national awards provide an excellent opportunity to recognise the wide range of skills that both Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers bring to policing throughout England and Wales.
Cumbrian winners at National Neighbourhood Watch Awards
Two Cumbria Police Support volunteers won recognition for their outstanding contribution to administration and management of ‘Cumbria Community Messaging’.
GMP launch new Cadet scheme
The scheme, developed by Sergeant Jane Butler and Youth Strategy Officer PC Andrew Marsden, is aimed at 13- 17 year-olds and provides a programme of weekly Cadet nights filled with activity, information and – hopefully – some fun.
Humberside volunteers in partnership with Fire & Rescue
Volunteers who offer their time and effort to Humberside Police are set to wear two hats as their services are shared in partnership with Humberside Fire and Rescue.
Police Support Volunteers Success at National Awards
On 19 October successful nominees for the National Special Constabulary and Police Support Volunteer Awards were invited to The Great Hall, Westminster, London to receive their awards from Lord Taylor of Holbeach, CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Criminal Information.
Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service Community Volunteers
Alun James , Community Volunteer, Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service tells Volunteering Matters about his volunteer role.
Foreword - Justin Davis Smith CBE, CEO Volunteering England
We're delighted to welcome Justin Davis Smith CBE, CEO of Volunteering England, as our guest foreword for this edition of Volunteering Matters
Tameside Homewatch
The 2012 Tameside Home Watch Conference was held recently at Dukinfield Town Hall, with over 100 Home Watch Co-ordinators and invited guests attending.
Foreword - Rob Beckley, ACPO National Lead for Citizens in Policing
We're delighted to welcome Rob Beckley, DCC of Avon & Somerset Police who is the ACPO National Lead for Citizens in Policing.
Spotlight on a Volunteer
Janet Gould is a volunteer for Greater Manchester Police and has been an essential part of the South Neighbourhood Policing team for a number of years.
Volunteering Matters Launch
Welcome to the first ever edition of Volunteering Matters. A foreword by Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.
Guest View - Susan J Ellis
Each issue we will have a specialist in volunteering guest to share their views with us. This edition we welcome Susan J Ellis, President of Energize, Inc., a training, consulting, and publishing firm that specialises in volunteerism.