Local police ask for “citizens in policing” volunteers

Devon and Cornwall Police have called for people to volunteer to help the force in a scheme called Citizens in Policing.

While the police have long had the special constabulary, which sees people working as volunteer officers alongside “regular” officers, there are also a number of other volunteer roles available.

Sarah Corber, citizens in policing development officer, said in 2016 the police force looked at “the in funding and the reduction of police officers in Devon and Cornwall” and “realised that we are not maximising the community around us”.

Sarah, who is based in Camborne and covers the west half of Cornwall from Truro to Penzance, has been working to increase the number of volunteers and making people more aware of how they can volunteer for the police.

She explained that the special constabulary was “crucial to the force” and said there was work being done to attract a wider range of people to get involved.

“What we are finding at the moment with the special constabulary is we have a lot of young people getting involved but they then move on very quickly to become regular police officers,” she said.

“We are struggling to maintain our numbers.”

She said the police wanted to hear from more people who wanted to become specials as volunteers, not as a way of starting a career in policing, and from “older people and people from more diverse backgrounds”.