Abstract
Volunteering in the police has a long and proud history, and a mixture of economic necessity alongside political ambition is contributing to a new chapter for police volunteering. Many of the newly elected PCCs are focused on how volunteers can more actively make their community safer, and many are seeking to grow the number of volunteers within the local force as well as diversify the opportunities they have to volunteer. Within the police, there is much support for enhancing the value and contribution of volunteers but many are concerned about the pace of and approach to this change. Taking into account the Policing and Crime Bill 2016, which will enable chief officer’s flexibility to confer a wider range of powers on police staff and volunteers, the identity of volunteers in policing is changing and their positioning is becoming more central to the core business of policing. This reinforces the sense that the agenda of citizens in policing is being reconstituted in real time and in all likelihood will continue to transform for some time yet.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Specialist publication | Policing Insight |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 8 Jun 2016 |
