Thank you to our volunteers

This Volunteers’ Week, we have one simple thing to say: thank you.

“At Essex Police, we are extremely proud and grateful for the 1,800 people who volunteer, giving up their time to help support, protect and inform our communities” said Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Nolan.
ACC Nolan went on to say: “We are thankful to you and to your loved ones. It takes a special person to dedicate their time to helping others.
“This week is an especially important time to recognise all that they do and, indeed, what all volunteers do across the UK.
“So, I want to personally thank you for being part of our policing family”

We want to take the opportunity this Volunteers’ Week, to highlight the amazing work our volunteers do across a wide variety of roles.

Jenny Brouard BEM, Commander of Essex Police Citizens in Policing said:

“We have a fantastic cohort of volunteers with a wide range of skills who give up many hours of their time to support our officers.
“Special Constables, Volunteer Police Cadets and Cadet Leaders, Police Support Volunteers and Active Citizens, Essex Watch along with Neighbourhood Watch schemes are an integral part of the extended policing family.
“I would like to thank all our volunteers for their dedication, enthusiasm and commitment as you all make such a difference within your communities - thank you.”

In November last year our Special Constabulary was presented with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service which honoured the huge contribution they make to Essex.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service recognises the tremendous input our Specials make and the way they work with our regular police officers. The award also included a ‘special designation’ for the support they provided during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superintendent Shaun Kane, Head of Citizens in Policing & Specials Command said:

“I am proud and privileged to be a part of our extensive and wide-ranging volunteer family. An extensive family of selfless people who care passionately about helping others and giving their time, support, guidance and inspiration to everyone in Essex, to positively help, protect and care for people of all ages and backgrounds, within all our communities.
“To all our volunteers, thank you for all that you do and making more things possible for more people through your support, care and commitment. You are all amazing and inspirational people.”

There are many volunteer opportunities available with us, whether it’s serving your community as a Special Constable, providing crime prevention advice to your neighbours as an Active Citizen or supporting young people as part of our Volunteer Police Cadets scheme.

 

Specials constables

Essex Police has the second largest Special Constabulary in the country after the Metropolitan Police, with 466 serving officers.

Specials have the same powers as regular officers and dedicate at least 16 hours a month on average to policing alongside their work and family commitments. Last year our Specials volunteered 193, 481 hours of their spare time to protect and serve the county. So far this year they have volunteered 57,126 hours.

What you do with your spare time can change lives, find out more on our Special Constabulary page.

 

Active Citizens and Police Staff volunteers

Active Citizens and Police Staff volunteers work with the community and Local Policing Teams to provide and raise crime prevention awareness and reduce the fear of crime in their communities.

Active Citizens they take part in a range of activities including community days of action, knocking on doors in areas affected by crimes such as burglary, letting residents know what has happened and helping to answer any questions or concerns.

Police Staff volunteers are highly vetted and assist with admin tasks and help with casualty bureau, trauma risk management and The Force Control Room.
They both act as a link between us and their communities.

 

Community Speed Watch

There are over 100 Community Speed Watch (CSW) groups in Essex who support our efforts to change driver behaviour and to make the roads of Essex a safer place. Volunteers use handheld speed detection devices to capture the speeds of oncoming vehicles then send the details to us.

Read more from two member of the Rayne Community Speed Watch Group on our news page. 

 

Cadets

The Volunteer Police take part in a variety of different volunteer opportunities, we have 13 cadet groups across Essex made up of young people ages 13-18 years old. From stewarding local events, helping with local community projects, assisting with crime prevention work and provide us with a youth perspective on the issues that affect them.

You can follow what they get up to on Twitter @EPCadets

For more details or to enquire about our volunteering opportunities visit our  Volunteers page.