Thanks to our volunteers for supporting their communities
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Today, on International Volunteer Day, we want to thank all our volunteers for the fantastic job they have done to support our communities through an extraordinary year.
The theme is Together We Can Through Volunteering and we certainly have this year thanks to our Specials, our Active Citizens and our Volunteer Police Cadets.
We have the second-largest Special Constabulary in the UK – you may have seen our special constables out and about, patrolling your streets, keeping you safe and catching criminals.
Our Specials are volunteer police officers with full policing powers but we also have roles for people who don’t want to become police officers. They are our Active Citizens, who give up their spare time to help our community policing teams reduce crime and the fear of crime by giving out crime prevention advice and, pre-COVID-19, helping out at various engagement events, such as Coffee with Cops - a role we hope they will be able to return to in the not too distant future.
And, of course, we have our Volunteer Police Cadet units for young volunteers aged 13 to 18, who mirror the role of our Active Citizens.
Our Citizens in Policing Commander Jenny Brouard says she is grateful to everyone who sacrifices their time to help our communities.
“Their contribution makes a real difference, to operational policing, to victims and to members of the public in general.
“I want to thank each and every one of our volunteers for the time you give to us to support the people of Essex. I know it’s been a difficult year but, if anything, you have given even more to our county and I am so proud of you all.
“Speaking to you, I also know how proud you are to be working with us. So, if anyone is thinking that they’d like to give something back to their community, why not take a look at all the volunteer roles Essex Police has to offer. It really is an opportunity like no other!”
Take a look at the Special Constabulary if you’d like to become a volunteer police officer. If you particularly want to support the community in which you live, take a look at our Community Special Constables scheme.
And if you are an employer, then our Employer Supported Policing scheme might interest you – it’s where you give your staff paid time off to volunteer as a special constable.
Or you may think becoming an Active Citizen would suit you better and for younger people, aged 13-18, you might want to join one of our 13 Volunteer Police Cadets units.