Pepper, Melissa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7211-2349 (2019) Between inside and outside: exploring the role and contribution of police support volunteers. In: British Society of Criminology Conference 2019: Public Criminologies: Community, Conflict and Justice, 02-05 Jul 2019, Lincoln, UK. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Police Support Volunteers (PSVs) - citizens who give their time freely to perform tasks that complement the duties of police officers and staff – undertake a variety of roles across every police service in England and Wales, from administration and front counter duties to traffic speed checks and viewing CCTV footage. However, their contribution arguably stretches beyond ‘helping out’ with tasks. PSVs bring a unique dual status – ‘outsiders’ located ‘inside’ the police – that can support community engagement and offer an alternative perspective. PSVs attach considerable meaning to these conceptions of volunteering, which are found to be instrumental to motivation, satisfaction, and intention to continue to give their time. However, creating meaningful and interesting opportunities for PSVs is challenging: while they are welcome donors of time and skills, they must remain non-essential to service delivery. Drawing on survey data and interviews with PSVs and volunteer managers in a large urban constabulary in England, this paper considers the challenges of recognising, capitalising on, and valuing PSV contribution in an organisation that is not (and cannot be) reliant on volunteers, and how PSVs configure their roles within this liminal status.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	volunteers, volunteers in policing
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Law & Criminology (LAC)
Related URLs:	Organisation
Last Modified:	01 Apr 2022 16:09
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/30432

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