Abstract
The Virtual Volunteers programme is an innovative approach to supporting volunteering for the police which was pioneered by Dr Martin Wright in collaboration with the South Wales Regional Organised Crime Unit (Tarian) and the University of South Wales Careers Service.
The programme is designed to support volunteering for those who are unable (for time or other practical reason) to volunteer in person for the police. Instead, “Virtual Volunteers” (VVs) complete online modules created by Dr Wright and Tarian colleagues which are delivered through a secure Careers portal. This process is supported by Michael Saleh at USW Careers. VVs modules are offered to students and graduates across the University of
South Wales, although their availability is highlighted to certain cognate courses (e.g. BSc (Hons) Professional Policing, courses within the Criminology and Psychology subject areas and the suite of Forensic Accounting courses) as it is felt that these students would experience the greatest interest.
The VVs modules are offered as professional development and employability opportunities rather than being a compulsory part of academic curricula (to underscore the voluntary nature of participation). Students and graduates can sign up to complete one of three modules developed by Tarian (Money Mules, Romance Fraud and more recently AI Crime) and receive information about the problem/issue. VVs are then encouraged to complete module related tasks and to consider/generate a solution to the problem from their
discipline specific perspective or other knowledge/ideas. These are presented back to Tarian in any form deemed suitable by the VV and VVs receive a letter of recognition from the officer involved with the VVs programme at Tarian.
As a new initiative, Dr Wright and colleagues were keen to understand the potential for development and to evaluate progress and outcomes of the VVs programme. The initial briefings for the VVs identified potential success indicators including increased involvement and engagement with the police, solutions which would ultimately lead to a reduction in fear of crime and opportunities for learning and skills development for students and graduates
completing the VVs programme. The potential scope of the programme is significant, and Dr Wright is already discussing national and international expansion. However, to develop this to its full potential, some understanding of the mechanisms and processes leading to success is needed as is some evaluation of the current programme implementation. Dr Wright approached the Psychology subject area to discuss potential evaluations and several courses of action were proposed to address this need. The primary evaluation is contained in a project currently underway with the MSc Psychology (Conversion) students as part of their dissertation. It is anticipated that findings of this element of the project will be available
from November 2024 and that further follow up work will be undertaken to report on developments in November 2025 and 2026. However, to provide a shorter-term view on the extant evidence, a “live brief” project was undertaken during the 23/24 Year 3 Forensic Psychology module. Students had the opportunity to complete annotated bibliography assessments in one of two areas; one connected to the VVs and one to work for another
external partner. This provides a unique opportunity to review the existing evidence as a way of identifying areas of priority for the research projects as well as giving an overview of the literature related to those success indicators.
The programme is designed to support volunteering for those who are unable (for time or other practical reason) to volunteer in person for the police. Instead, “Virtual Volunteers” (VVs) complete online modules created by Dr Wright and Tarian colleagues which are delivered through a secure Careers portal. This process is supported by Michael Saleh at USW Careers. VVs modules are offered to students and graduates across the University of
South Wales, although their availability is highlighted to certain cognate courses (e.g. BSc (Hons) Professional Policing, courses within the Criminology and Psychology subject areas and the suite of Forensic Accounting courses) as it is felt that these students would experience the greatest interest.
The VVs modules are offered as professional development and employability opportunities rather than being a compulsory part of academic curricula (to underscore the voluntary nature of participation). Students and graduates can sign up to complete one of three modules developed by Tarian (Money Mules, Romance Fraud and more recently AI Crime) and receive information about the problem/issue. VVs are then encouraged to complete module related tasks and to consider/generate a solution to the problem from their
discipline specific perspective or other knowledge/ideas. These are presented back to Tarian in any form deemed suitable by the VV and VVs receive a letter of recognition from the officer involved with the VVs programme at Tarian.
As a new initiative, Dr Wright and colleagues were keen to understand the potential for development and to evaluate progress and outcomes of the VVs programme. The initial briefings for the VVs identified potential success indicators including increased involvement and engagement with the police, solutions which would ultimately lead to a reduction in fear of crime and opportunities for learning and skills development for students and graduates
completing the VVs programme. The potential scope of the programme is significant, and Dr Wright is already discussing national and international expansion. However, to develop this to its full potential, some understanding of the mechanisms and processes leading to success is needed as is some evaluation of the current programme implementation. Dr Wright approached the Psychology subject area to discuss potential evaluations and several courses of action were proposed to address this need. The primary evaluation is contained in a project currently underway with the MSc Psychology (Conversion) students as part of their dissertation. It is anticipated that findings of this element of the project will be available
from November 2024 and that further follow up work will be undertaken to report on developments in November 2025 and 2026. However, to provide a shorter-term view on the extant evidence, a “live brief” project was undertaken during the 23/24 Year 3 Forensic Psychology module. Students had the opportunity to complete annotated bibliography assessments in one of two areas; one connected to the VVs and one to work for another
external partner. This provides a unique opportunity to review the existing evidence as a way of identifying areas of priority for the research projects as well as giving an overview of the literature related to those success indicators.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Type | Live brief report on Virtual Volunteers |
| Media of output | National Police Library Online Resource |
| Publication status | Published - 11 Feb 2025 |
