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A new business plan which aims to help increase the number of Police Support Volunteers across all forces in England and Wales will be launched at the NPIA's Police Support Volunteers Conference this weekend (11-12 September).

32 forces across the country already have their own volunteer programmes for Police Support Volunteers. The Police Support Volunteer Business Plan sets out a vision where all 43 forces in England and Wales have an active volunteer programme by 2013.  The plan focuses on how forces can be supported to help achieve this outcome.

The NPIA will continue to work closely with the Police Support Volunteer Programme Board to support forces to develop initiatives to proactively recruit volunteers and ensure they are used effectively.

There are currently 6,250 Police Support Volunteers throughout England and Wales contributing a great deal to their local forces and communities. Police Support Volunteers increase the capacity of police forces and free up more time for full time officers to focus on frontline duties, which helps to deter criminal activity and reassure local communities.

Engaging Police Support Volunteers is a relatively new concept, with the first programme being run by Kent Police in 1992. Since then, volunteers with their diverse backgrounds and skills have been used to support police officers and civilian staff in a wide range of tasks. These range from providing administrative support to police officers and staff, to public reassurance roles, crime prevention support, and analysing information.

Policing Minister David Hanson MP, said: "Police support volunteers across all levels play a vital role in helping forces provide the best service possible to the public and deliver on local priorities. 

"That role is a key part of our vision for policing in the 21st century. I am very pleased to see the work that is going on across England and Wales to make sure we continue to make the most of the contribution volunteers give to the police service."

Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, Chief Executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency, said: "The NPIA is pleased to acknowledge and support the Police Support Volunteer Business Plan and will continue to work in partnership with key stakeholders to achieve the goals set out in the plan.

"Overall numbers of police support volunteers in forces have risen significantly in recent years; the Plan sets out a clear vision for taking advantage of the appetite that exists within individuals and communities as a whole, for providing such support to police forces.

"The business plan provides a realistic and highly commendable approach with many potential benefits for both police forces and local communities."

Notes to editors:

About the conference
The National Police Support Volunteer Conference is being held at the police training centre at Ryton on Dunsmore in the West Midlands. Guests include Chief Executive of Volunteering England, Dr Justin Davis Smith, who will present to the conference on 'volunteering in the public sector' In addition to this a keynote address will be made by the NPIA's Head of Police Equality and Diversity Policy, Maqsood Ahmad.

About Police Support Volunteers

• Police Support Volunteers are drawn from all parts of the community. They are not members of staff, do not wear uniforms and are not warranted. They perform their agreed voluntary roles alongside police staff and officers and are vetted to a level commensurate with the roles they are asked to fulfil. Police Support Volunteers support officers and civilian staff. They do not replace staff roles or prevent the employment of police staff.
• 75% of police forces in England and Wales have volunteer programmes.
• There are currently over 6,000 Police Support Volunteers in England and Wales.
• In 2006 the there were 3872 PSVs. This number will rise to 6214 * by the end of 2008 an increase of 60%.  In the years from 2008 - 2012 it is forecast that volunteer strength will increase by 4333, an increase of 70%. This comes from the 2008 PSV survey, p. 4, link below:
            http://www.npia.police.uk/en/docs/2008_Final_Questionnaire_analysis.pdf
• Over 100 different roles are performed by Police Support Volunteers.
• The first police volunteer programme in the UK was in Kent in 1992.
• In 2007, a Police Support Volunteer Programme Board was established to provide support and guidance to forces taking part in volunteer programmes. DCC Chris Lee of Dorset (ACPO lead for PSVs) chairs the PSV programme board.
• The Police Support Volunteer Programme now has a formal business plan to fully incorporate volunteering into police culture by 2013.
• Special Constables are also volunteers but do not fall under the Police Support Volunteers programme. The Special Constabulary is enshrined in law and has the same policing powers as the regular police force. Police Support Volunteers have no policing powers.
• The concept of volunteering to help your local community by providing support to a local police force also notably exists in the USA and in Australia, where the Volunteers In Policing programme has just celebrated its 30th anniversary.

About NPIA
NPIA is a single national organisation created to support effective policing.  It provides expertise in areas as diverse as information and communications technology, support to information and intelligence sharing, core police processes, managing change and recruiting, developing and deploying people.
The organisation's creation in April 2007 streamlined and simplified the way that policing improvement is delivered locally and nationally.  NPIA works for the police service and is governed by a tripartite board comprising ACPO, APA, Home Office and independent members.  The ACPO President is a member of the NPIA Board.
For further information contact the NPIA Press Office on: 020 7147 8297/8308/8310/8424.