In the Police service, there are many volunteering opportunities that give people the chance to be involved with the Police service. It is important in the Police Service to have volunteers due to the cuts happening in the service. As the table below shows between 2011 and 2015 over 213 officers have been made redundant. Cheshire Police. (2009). Police Authority Publishes Budget Considerations. One of the many volunteer opportunities in the police service includes the Special Constables. The Special Constables have the same duties as Police Constable but they do not get paid for the work they do, whilst being a Special Constable, they will also have a part time job. The service stands to gain a various range of experience and skills when having volunteers in the service. For example; some Special Constables may have experience within the Police force whereas other Specials may have little or no experience within the Police force.
The force would gain a wide vary of skills from the recruits in which his could be shared with each other. Another volunteer opportunity within the police force in which I volunteer with is the Police cadets. There are benefits that are gained whilst volunteering as a Police cadet, whilst completing the scheme, new life skills will be gained for example a bigger feeling of responsibility and the knowledge on how to make the right decisions later on in life.
The first organization I will evaluate is the Police’s Special Constables. There are many advantages of which being a volunteer Special Constable would bring to many sectors. The community, government, service and the volunteer old all be advantaged of the Special Constables. The advantages of Specials in the community include; a decrease of crime in their community due to the volunteers giving up their free time, this means that more officers and specials are available to patrol the streets ensuring everyone is safe.
If people from the community are volunteering it may also influence other citizens to get involved, this means the community will become more valued and better known for its good ways. In the government, Special Constables will be an advantage as this means that money is saved for the country, meaning that the community would gain benefit in better things or places for the youth to go during the day and night. If the government saves money this means that youth clubs could be built resulting in a decrease of anti social behavior and also ensures safety of the younger generation.
In the service, Special Constables will be a big advantage for the police force as this means the saving of the police service’s fund. If the fund is being saved then there would be fewer cuts in the service. As well as all the different sectors being advantaged by Specials, the volunteer would also benefit from being a special constable. These being whilst carrying out the service, the volunteer would gain new skills that he/she could use in the future. It would benefit the volunteer in a future career as employers look at previous volunteering they have done.
Also they would gain new experience and be able to have new opportunities, meet new people and as a Special Constable they would never become bored of their job as everyday is different. As well as the advantages, there are disadvantage of being a volunteer Special Constable. The disadvantages of the Specials include; Specials and Police Constables not getting long with each other due to Constables being paid. Another disadvantage of this in the service could be that the specials get to involved and become disliked because they’re stealing the Constables job.
The second organization I will evaluate is the Police Cadets. There are again advantages and disadvantages of the volunteering for this organization. The advantages outweighing the disadvantages. The advantages of being a Police Cadet include gaining knowledge that would be useful in the future, this would then go on to intervene in any future decisions that you were to make in the future. Another advantage of this is the cadet gaining new skills that will come useful when doing activities. It gives the Cadet a chance to experience what a career in the police force looks like.
Gives us a chance to meet new people and go to events in the community. The disadvantages of Volunteering in the Police Cadets include limited places which will mean not everyone will have the chance to succeed the application process or the interview process. In my opinion, I believe that volunteering is a beneficial opportunity as the person taking part gains new skills that may be useful later in future jobs. Volunteering also boost the confidence levels you have and help build your social skills. It helps you to make new friends and meet new people. Volunteering is a great thing to experience as you give something back to the community where you live. It gives you something to do within your spare time. ‘Your volunteer work might also expose you to professional organizations or internships that could be of benefit to your career. ‘
