Your country needs you! The economic viability of volunteers in the police

During the global economic downturn, those involved in the delivery of community safety and crime and disorder reduction must consider the economics of attempting to achieve their goals. Although there is a capacity for community volunteer schemes to be robustly implemented throughout crime and disorder reduction partnerships, (CDRPs), this paper will focus on the use of volunteers within the police service. This paper examines the use of volunteers within the police service in England and Wales and, in particular, the use of an economic costing model entitled VIVA, to illustrate the economic advantages of the volunteer approach. It is argued that increased use of volunteers would allow for greater public confidence and provide greater resonance in attempts by partnerships to engage with their communities.