This in from the police, in their own words. Ed
National Volunteers Week is taking place from 1 – 7 June and Hampshire Constabulary is taking this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers who work alongside the police to help make the two counties a safer place.
Police Support Volunteer Scheme
The Police Support Volunteer Scheme was launched in 2009, and there are now almost 700 police volunteers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Inspector Julie Rawson, Extended Police Family lead said:
“The Police Support Volunteers give up their time to assist the force, they enable us to enhance the service that we provide and free up officers time to enable more time to be spent out on the streets.
“The Police Support Volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages and volunteer for a variety of reasons from wanting to ‘give back’ to their local community to refreshing skills after being out of the workplace, some have always had an interest in the police and see it as a way of finding out more about the organisation and if they would wish to pursue a career with the constabulary.”
Pin badges
As a small thank you, Police Support Volunteers who have been working with the constabulary for over a year will be receiving pin badges.
There are a number of different roles and schemes across the force taken up by police support volunteers, this includes Community Speedwatch and Student Watch.
Safer communities a shared responsibility
Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes said:
“The responsibility for creating safer communities does not lie solely with the police, but is the shared responsibility of other agencies, communities and each individual citizen.
“The residents that volunteer with Hampshire Constabulary, be it in a supportive role or serving as a Special constable, contribute in a very direct way to combating and preventing crime. At a time when many organisations are seeking the support of volunteers, it is encouraging to see that so many people have chosen Hampshire Constabulary to volunteer with.
“There are many other voluntary organisations out there that play an equally important part in keeping communities safe and that assist the police in preventing crime and protecting the most vulnerable members of our society – for example street pastors, victim support services, and organisations working with young people. To all of them as well as to all Police Support Volunteers and Special constables working with Hampshire police directly goes a big thank you.”
Special constables
There are also over 500 Special constables working in the two forces. Special constables have exactly the same powers as regular police officers, however they take on the role as a volunteer.
Special constables support a number of key events and were involved in providing a policing presence at events relating to Euro 2012, the Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympics torch relay events.
The amount of duty hours they performed during the period April 2012 – March 2013 amounted to 135,701 hours.
For further information on volunteering opportunities with Hampshire Constabulary please go to the website, www.hampshire.police.uk/internet/about-us/join-us/police-support-volunteering
