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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 12:30 am
Time: 12:30 am
Results for civilian policing
1 results foundAuthor: Millie, Andrew Title: Volunteering within the Police: Experiences of Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers Summary: Whilst the majority of British policing is carried out by paid professionals, there has long been a degree of involvement from volunteers, a situation formalised with the 1831 Special Constables Act (Seth, 1961; Gill and Mawby, 1990; Bullock, 2014; 2015a). Special Constables have full police powers and wear a uniform similar to regular police officers, but are usually unpaid. These Specials have traditionally been a reserve to full back on, but today fulfil a range of roles and duties. Other police volunteers contribute to what has become known as an 'extended policing family' or a form of 'civilian policing' (Crawford and Lister, 2004). For example, volunteers can include those involved in various Neighbourhood and Home Watch Schemes. From the early 1990s across England and Wales, volunteers started to appear in many other areas of police work, including supplementary voluntary patrols supported by the police and volunteers staffing front counters at police station that were threatened with closure (Crawford and Lister, 2004; Millie, 2012; Unison, 2014; Bullock, 2015b). In the early 2000s West Yorkshire Police, for example, took on volunteers: …to undertake specific duties within police stations, such as providing information on the progress of cases to victims and witnesses, in order to relieve police officers of these duties so that they could spend more time outside the station (Crawford and Lister, 2004: 33). Those who volunteered for the various opportunities offered by different police services were officially badged 'Police Support Volunteers' (henceforth PSVs). Although the first PSV scheme is thought to have been established in 1992 (Bullock, 2014), the Home Office actively promoted PSVs from the early 2000s as part of a police service, "in which the contribution of everyone – officers, police staff and volunteers – is fully recognised and used to the full in the delivery of front line services" (Home Office, 2004: 9). More recently, there has been a governmental drive to promote community participation in what the Conservatives called a 'Big Society', claiming to be "redistributing power from the state to society; from the centre to local communities, giving people the opportunity to take more control over their lives". (The Conservatives, 2010: 37). This promotion of local solutions came with calls to improve police-community relations. It also coincided with austerity measures, meaning budget cuts were being made to public services, including the police (Millie and Bullock, 2012; Millie, 2013). The result was a climate where the active recruitment of unpaid police volunteers became more appealing. While some forces have regarded PSVs as a free resource (Unison, 2014), this is clearly not the case. There are costs involved in recruitment, training, supervision and management, as well as in providing desk space, equipment, insurance and in covering appropriate expenses (Brudney, 1999). Having said that, a PSV is always going to be cheaper than a paid member of police staff or an officer. There has been concern that volunteers have replaced paid employees. However, in Lancashire - the force where the current study occurs – all PSV duties are required to have union approval as additional to existing paid roles before being advertised. Across England and Wales PSVs and Police Specials come under the umbrella of "Citizens in Policing". With various Special Constabularies, Police Cadets, PSVs, and Neighbourhood and Home Watch Schemes it is claimed that there are over 500,000 volunteers working for the police across England and Wales (College of Policing, undated)1 The focus for this study is those who volunteer for Lancashire Constabulary as either Special Constables or PSVs. The main difference between Specials and PSVs is that PSVs are unwarranted and usually non-uniformed – although some forces have given uniforms to public-facing PSVs to make them appear more professional (Bullock, 2014). Details: Preston, UK: Lancashire Constabulary Headquarters, 2016. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 17, 2017 at: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/About/News/Documents/police_volunteers_report_FINAL.PDF Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/About/News/Documents/police_volunteers_report_FINAL.PDF Shelf Number: 144480 Keywords: Civilian PolicingPolice Volunteers Special Constables Volunteers |