Things may be a little different this year but the Commissioner and Hertfordshire Constabulary are still taking time to celebrate the fantastic contribution its Police Support Volunteers make, as part of National Volunteers’ Week 2020 (1-7 June).

There are around 270 Police Support Volunteers across a number of roles, as well 269 Volunteer Police Cadets, 210 DriveSafe volunteers and 236 officers in the Special Constabulary. Between them, they contributed an impressive 16,500 volunteer hours last year.

The opportunities for volunteers at Hertfordshire Police and the OPCC are varied and range from placements within Safer Neighbourhood Teams and Local Crime Units to more specialised units, such as the Rural Operational Support Team, missing persons unit and Sexual Offences Investigation Team.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd said: “My Police and Crime Plan for Hertfordshire is titled Everybody’s Business as I believe we all should all play our part in keeping communities safe.

“Nothing exemplifies this more than the hundreds of volunteers who give up their time to help with policing and criminal justice issues. I would like to commend and thank them all for their efforts.

“From my office we not only have the DriveSafe scheme, but also the independent custody visitors who check on the condition of those detained at police stations.

“The dog welfare volunteers ensure the Constabulary’s animals are being looked after properly. While those on the Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel ensure the police powers are being properly implemented.”

For details on any of the schemes and how to volunteers please visit https://www.hertscommissioner.org/



Here are just some of the highlights from the past year:

• 16 volunteers assisted with the Constabulary’s biggest ever policing operation back in December, namely the NATO leaders’ meeting at The Grove in Watford.
• 153 deployments were completed by the RAPPAW team - RAPPAW volunteers and their dogs give their free time to provide aftercare and support to vulnerable victims within the community.
• 126 speed monitoring sessions were carried out by DriveSafe volunteers across the county, which resulted in more than 3,000 letters of advice being sent out to speeding drivers.
• 282 businesses signed up to the Business Watch scheme, thanks to the hard work of 12 new volunteers. The scheme keeps businesses up to date with any advice or crime alerts in the local area, through the OWL messaging system (visit www.owl.co.uk to find out more).
• 79 schools have now completed or started the Mini Police scheme since it launched in the 2018/19 academic year (the 2019/20 programme is currently on hold due to COVID-19).

Superintendent Dean Patient, from the Constabulary’s Workforce Development department, said: “Whilst sadly we are unable to celebrate our fantastic volunteers in the usual way this year, we would still like to recognise the vital contribution each and every one of them makes to the constabulary. Their support is invaluable as it allows frontline officers to concentrate on operational tasks, knowing work behind the scenes is in safe hands. We are so grateful for their continued support.”

He continued: “There are many benefits to volunteering; it offers the chance to give something back to the community and make a difference to the people around you. It also provides an opportunity to develop new skills or build on your existing experience and knowledge. New opportunities arise frequently, so if you are interested in volunteering with us, then please get in touch.”

For more information about the Constabulary’s Police Support Volunteer Scheme and how you can get involved, visit herts.police.uk/PoliceSupportVolunteers