Volunteers' Week: Firm support for our Specials

Essex Chambers of Commerce are keen supporters of our Specials, as are many businesses in the county.

Across Essex, 68 organisations have signed up to our Employer Supported Policing scheme, around 15 who are members of Essex Chambers of Commerce.

And we are so grateful for their support, not just during Volunteers' Week but all year round.

They allow employees paid, allocated days or hours, per month or per year, out of their job to volunteer as a special constable.

Three members of Essex Chambers of Commerce visited us during Volunteers’ Week to see what training employees receive when they join us as Specials.

Chief executive Denise Rossiter says:

“We got involved with Employer Supported Policing around five years ago because we feel it is really important for businesses to be involved with their local communities, helping to keep them safe.
“Doing so benefits everyone who lives, works and does business in that community.
“Some of the larger firms also have corporate social responsibility, or CSR, requirements such as community involvement and putting people at the heart of their own development, and this scheme fits in very well with those.
“The scheme allows businesses to work closely with Essex Police and get a valuable insight into the policing world while their employees gain valuable skills and training which will benefit their employer as well as the wider community when they are policing it.”

Our force Supported Policing coordinator, Les Hawkins, says the ESP scheme is a great partnership between businesses and policing.

“It’s a fantastic way for firms to help protect their local communities and ensure they are safe places to live, work and visit.
“Under the scheme, employers allow their staff agreed, paid time away from work. In return, as a trained special constable, with all the powers of a regular police officer, their staff member will acquire new skills, which will be of advantage in their day job as well.”

Want to do more for your community?

If you have special constables in your workforce and would like more details on how the Employer Supported Policing scheme could work for your business, contact us via [email protected] or visit our Employer Supported Policing page.

The scheme would be tailor-made to your organisation, to benefit you and your employee.

Essex Police Business Crime Team

Our Business Crime Team specialises in supporting businesses, working to build relationships with independent shops and retail chains, explaining how they can report crime to us and, just as importantly, what will happen when they do. 

They help to identify risks in the workplace, providing crime prevention, fraud and cyber-crime advice and strengthening links with businesses and partners, including local community safety partnerships, Essex Chambers of Commerce and the Essex Federation of Small Businesses.

Working with the National Business Crime Centre, the team share nationally-identified crime trends and best practice with our business community. And they have also developed a comprehensive guide to business crime prevention which identifies steps business-owners can take to protect themselves and their properties. 

• For more information, visit our Business Crime Team pages