Doing More for Less in Changing Times: The Use of Volunteers in Policing

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

This Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) PhD study aims to further understand the role of Police Support Volunteers and the officers who work with them, with a focus on the London Metropolitan Police Service. Utilising mixed methods including a survey of volunteers, and interviews with volunteers, officers and stakeholders, the study sets out to explore the type of people who volunteer, the roles they undertake, their experiences of volunteering, perceptions of their contribution to policing, and the relationship between volunteers and officers. Drawing on themes of police pluralisation, and set within a context of UK public sector austerity, the research aims to 'tell the story' of volunteers and their contribution to policing through the voices of ‘on the ground’ volunteers and officers themselves. This study will contribute to a currently limited evidence base at a time when politicians, policy makers, and police leaders are faced with delivering services in an era that increasingly demands ‘more for less’. The study hopes to inform the development of more sustainable police volunteer programmes, which create satisfying and interesting roles for volunteers, and enable the police service to more effectively tap in to the diverse resources and experiences the public can offer.

Author

• Melissa Jane Pepper, University of Surrey, UK