Recruiting police support volunteers for their professional knowledge and skills: A pilot study

Against a backdrop of austerity, the national ‘Citizens in Policing’ programme aims to engage the wider community and support the police service. Research conducted across a single force area identified the level of motivation and barriers to recruiting those with professional knowledge and skills as police support volunteers. This research study identified that there is a significant appetite to volunteer as a specialist utilising professional knowledge and skills; however, there are barriers to applications to volunteer related to time commitments, lack of professional opportunities available, formal recognition and the volunteering opportunity descriptions.