Police Support Volunteer
Encyclopedia
Police Support Volunteer (or PSV, Police Community Volunteer, PCV) is a voluntary role within the ranks of British Police Forces that involves civilian and mainly office based duties. PSV schemes became popular after the millennium when forces were expanding and needed to be more connected to the community. At the start few forces had a civilian volunteer scheme but by 2010 32 of the 43 police forces have PSV schemes, in the UK there are over 6250 volunteers, who contribute over 500,000 hours a year voluntarily. It is estimated that the number of PSV's will increase by 70% next year to over 10,000 volunteers. The first PSV scheme was started in 1992 by Kent Police
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South Wales Police
run a similar scheme alongside PSV, called Police Student Volunteer, a scheme that encourages students to help local policing teams.
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and the Data Protection Act, and are expected to behave honourably whilst on and off duty.
employees of police forces who do similar work, the difference being that they are paid for the work they do. This distinction is important as not to give the illusion that volunteers will be paid or receive any benefits that employees do.
Kent Police
Kent Police is the territorial police force for Kent in England, including the unitary authority of Medway.-Area and organisation:The force covers an area of with an approximate population of 1,660,588 . The Chief Constable is currently Ian Learmonth, who was appointed in 2010 and is the former...
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South Wales Police
South Wales Police
South Wales Police is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. Its headquarters are based in Bridgend.Covering Wales' capital city, Cardiff, as well as Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea, and the western South Wales Valleys, it is the largest police force in Wales in terms of population,...
run a similar scheme alongside PSV, called Police Student Volunteer, a scheme that encourages students to help local policing teams.
Duties
PSV's generally take on office based roles such as administration assistants or operations assistants, with tasks including paperwork, computer-based work, CCTV operators, Police Information Point assistant or frontdesk duties. However if a PSV has specific skills that can be applied to an alternative role they could find themselves redesignated to a role that benefits from their talents such as roadside camera operations, photographic sections, force counsellor or force chaplainChaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
.
Recruitment
23 of the 32 participating forces have a dedicated paid PSV mananger or co-ordinator that manages and recruits volunteer on request from the requiring department. The recruitment process for PSV's involves an application form and an informal interview where the candidate will usually meet their supervisor. New recruits have no formal training, they have inductions that are specific to their role, and they have no formal uniform, although they are unofficially expected to dress respectfully. Due to the sensitive nature of a PSV's placement they are required to sign the Official Secrets ActOfficial Secrets Act
The Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.-United Kingdom:*The Official Secrets...
and the Data Protection Act, and are expected to behave honourably whilst on and off duty.
Benefits
The benefits of being a volunteer can include a chance to help out in the local community, benefit the police service the PSV is volunteering for, to gain work experience, particularly in a police environment and to gain an insight into the police service the PSV is volunteering for. Although being a PSV has no official direct advantage in regards to career progression, it shows dedication and experience with the police service.Disambiguation
PSV's are not to be confused with Special Constables, who are also volunteers, the difference being that 'specials' are frontline police and have the powers of arrest which PSV's do not have. PSV's are also not to be confused with civilianCivilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
employees of police forces who do similar work, the difference being that they are paid for the work they do. This distinction is important as not to give the illusion that volunteers will be paid or receive any benefits that employees do.
Similar programmes
- USA has a similar programme called Volunteers in Police ServiceVolunteers in Police ServiceThe Volunteers in Police Service is a volunteer program that provides volunteer assistance to local police. The program is managed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in partnership with the White House Office of the USA Freedom Corps and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office...
, that allows volunteers to help out local law enforcement agencies. The scheme comes under the Citizen CorpsCitizen CorpsCitizen Corps is a United States national service program under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security that seeks to mobilize the population of the country against threats to national security as well as to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack...
programme of President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, which comes under the USA Freedom CorpsUSA Freedom CorpsThe USA Freedom Corps was a White House office and fifth policy council within the Executive Office of the President of the United States under George W. Bush, who as President served as its chair...
initiative of President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. This program focuses on co-ordinating volunteers to create safe and strong that are ready to deal with large scale emergencies and terrorism.
- AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
has some police forces, particularly New South Wales PoliceNew South Wales PoliceThe New South Wales Police Force is the primary law enforcement agency in the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is an agency of the Government of New South Wales within the New South Wales Ministry for Police...
, with programmes called Volunteers in Policing. The program is very similar to the British counterpart except volunteers wear a uniform of blue shirt and black trousers.