Police Support Volunteers

You’ll be working alongside our serving officers to gather on-the-ground intelligence and help to prevent crime in rural areas. It a unique chance to get involved in large scale police operations that target suspects, tackle off-road disorder, drug supply, anti-social behaviour and organised crime in rural areas.

You’ll help us to share important crime prevention messages among rural communities, using your contacts and networks to spread the word.

While rural crime volunteers don’t have powers of arrest, they do have access to police equipment and information, like using police radio channels to share intelligence during operations.

Our volunteers come from all sorts of rural backgrounds including gamekeepers, estate managers and farmers. They come from far and wide – from the border with Cumbria down to the outskirts of Durham.

To join the scheme, volunteers should already have a good understanding of local crime and wildlife concerns in their areas.

As part of our wider police family, all volunteers should demonstrate honesty and act with integrity. It’s important that you have the skills to engage with people in a non-confrontational way that would put your own safety and that of others at risk.

We will of course provide you with full training for the role. The structured course involves committing to a one day induction event followed by continuous professional development events across the year.

Your training focuses on how to report and share with us things that you come across.

After the initial training, it’s entirely up to you how much time you dedicate to being a rural crime volunteer. However, we do ask that you attend one Rural Crime Operation per year and one Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Event per year as a minimum.

Many of our volunteers find that the role fits in well with their day to day life, as you’ll already be based in a rural community and will naturally see and hear of issues that you think may be worth reporting to officers.

You’ll also be invited to take part in specialist operations, like the long-running Operation Checkpoint – the biggest rural op of its kind in the country.

Community Speed Watch is a national initiative which plays a vital role in helping to reduce speeding vehicles. The initiative aims to educate drivers on the importance of road safety.

As a volunteer, you’ll be working in conjunction with our officers to gather information on those speeding and offending on the roads. You’ll play a crucial role in helping to keep our roads and communities safe. Not only will you help to raise awareness and deter speeding, you will also help to reduce noise pollution and improve the quality of life in your community.

Full training will be given prior to becoming a volunteer. You will be issued a digital handbook which will give a full overview of the role, alongside guidance to speed gun operation and roadside health and safety. An officer will accompany you on your very first Speed Watch duty.

Once fully trained, you’ll work in a team of two to four volunteers. Then you’ll visit 20mph and 30mph roads of your choice with a radar to record the speed and registration number of the offending vehicles. You will use equipment to capture:

• Speed
• Registration number
• Vehicle make, model and colour
• Time and direction of travel

A portable speed sign will warn drivers of your presence and will act as a reminder to consider their speed as they approach. You will wear a Hi-Viz tabard and carry an ID card to identify yourself as a Police Support Volunteer.

We ask that you volunteer a minimum of two hours per month if you are able, however we would encourage you to offer your time only as and when is suitable. We do ask that you volunteer during daylight hours only and in safe weather conditions.

Community Speed Watch spans 2000 square miles. That’s from the top of our force area in Berwick-upon-Tweed to the bottom Houghton-le-Spring. There are set scheme locations in all force areas, so please contact citizensinpolicing@northumbria.police.uk to ensure there is an active scheme in or near your area! Each scheme has an assigned single point of contact (SPOC) officer who will support you in role.

While you are able to select any 20mph or 30mph road for Community Speed Watch duty, your SPOC may also ask you to deploy (within reasonable travelling distance) to problem roads which exceed your immediate locality – however this is entirely up to you to accept.

While speed targeting operations may require you to attend certain locations, often you will liaise directly with other Speed Watch volunteers and decide together which areas you visit.

As a volunteer, you will make contact with victims and witnesses to provide low level emotional support based on the individual’s needs. This could range from a one-off conversation to longer term regular support via phone calls or face-to-face meetings, depending on the individual needs and recovery journey of the victim.

Support will be provided for a wide range of crimes including burglary, assault, theft, and public order. Volunteers will return regular updates to their Unit Supervisor to ensure that cases are accurately recorded.

Our volunteers come from all backgrounds and communities! Communication, integrity, reliability, and empathy are key skills we look for in this role. Volunteers will encounter victims and witnesses who have experienced traumatic and difficult situations, and therefore volunteers should be non-judgemental and supportive.

All NVWS volunteers are provided with full training and accreditation via online courses, and will be required to complete a training portfolio with support and guidance from the team. Volunteers are trained in how to react to and speak with the individuals, and are managed by the Unit Supervisor.

After some time in role, you could have the opportunity to undertake additional training in specialist areas such as Domestic and Sexual Violence, which will enable you to support a wider cohort of victims.

Volunteers are asked to contribute a minimum of four hours per week during training, and ideally two hours per week once training is complete, due to the nature of the work. However, there is flexibility within this time commitment; we do ask that if these hours cannot be given, you commit as close to this as you are able.

The majority of volunteering can be undertaken from home, with some office visits for meetings and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities where appropriate.

Assistant Cadet Leaders will support the Cadet Leader in leading the Cadet Unit. This will include supervising and supporting the cadets during sessions and events, dealing with issues, and providing a high-quality service to the public. You will be a role model and inspiration to young people, sharing new experiences and helping them to learn more about themselves and what they are capable of. You’ll get to meet lots of different people, some of them from the local community, others from the Northumbria Policing family.

There’s also an opportunity to get involved in the running of the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, supporting the development of individual cadets, and identifying areas in which we can improve.

You don’t need to come from a policing background to join us! Experience of working with young people (whether that be through a previous volunteer role or in a professional capacity) is beneficial, but is not a requirement for the role.

You need to have a good level of resilience and patience, as our cadets are between the ages of 13 – 18 years old. We want to provide a great service to our young people; therefore, you’ll need to be passionate about helping others and able to communicate effectively. Cadets are regularly active in external community events, and therefore organisational and planning skills are essential to ensure you can support the Cadet Leader. If you have these skills, we’ll ensure you receive support and training from experienced officers and staff that will help you become a great Assistant Cadet Leader.

You should be at least 18 years of age and must live within reasonable travelling distance to the Cadet Unit.

All Assistant Cadet Leaders will complete an induction period which will include thorough role based training and online training modules.

It’s an essential requirement (Protection of Freedoms Act 2012) for all Forces delivering Volunteer Police Cadet (VPC) activities to ensure all leaders have a DBS check; this will be carried out before you commence in role.

Our cadet groups meet for 2 hours per week on an evening during school term time. The cadets also complete various training days throughout the year where we’d require your support. Naturally – we understand with any volunteer role that you will have other commitments to consider, therefore if you have any questions, please get in touch.

There are six Cadet Units throughout the force area: one in Northumberland, North Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, and South Tyneside. In addition to attending weekly cadet sessions, training days and cadet events will be held at various locations across the force area which you may be asked to participate in. Some national activities may also take place across the country.