Supporting and Developing Police Support Volunteers in a Large Urban Constabulary in England, UK

Abstract

Police Support Volunteers (PSVs) -citizens who give their time freely to perform tasks that complement the duties of officers and staff -feature in every police service in England and Wales. Emerging in the early 1990s, the non-warranted and (usually) non-uniformed PSV is a relatively new addition to an established police volunteer history, performing a variety of tasks from administration and station front counter duties, to traffic speed checks and viewing CCTV footage. Drawing on a mixed-methods study including PSVs, strategic stakeholders, and volunteer managers, this chapter will explore the infrastructure required within (and beyond) policing to adequately support, develop, and involve volunteers. It will consider coordination of volunteers -from 'top down' vision to ground level delivery -and the pivotal role of volunteer managers in supporting and developing PSVs. Finally, the chapter will turn to the future -the challenges that police services face in rethinking and reassigning tasks against a backdrop of shifting priorities, diminishing resources, and a pluralising 'work-force' -and reimagine the role of PSVs within this.