North Yorkshire Police is looking for volunteers for a number of exciting opportunities across the county.

Police Support Volunteers are much valued members of the policing family who give up their free time to help the police keep North Yorkshire one of the safest places in the country.

They carry out various roles from ensuring our vehicles are equipped and ready for the road, to quality checking our interaction with victims of crime.

North Yorkshire Police has a strong history of volunteering with many committed people who go the extra mile to help the police protect the communities of North Yorkshire.

The force are looking for community-spirited people who have a few hours to spare each week and can assist them with a number of roles including vehicle checkers in York, drivers in the Thirsk area, a volunteer manager in the Scarborough area and a number of county-wide opportunities for people to carry out feedback surveys with victims of crime.

As part of the policing family, you will join a team of like-minded people who are committed to helping their local community as well as making new friends and getting an insight into the work of your local police service.

North Yorkshire Police’s Chief Officer for Citizens in Policing, Mike Maiden, who is also a volunteer, said: “Being a volunteer can be extremely rewarding and by joining the police service you will have a unique experience of volunteering.

“You will be supporting your local police force, and in turn, help members of the public who are often at their most vulnerable. Your support will allow officers and staff to concentrate on their priorities of providing a service to victims, preventing and detecting crime and bring offenders to justice.

“You will also get to meet some great people and be part of a committed team of people who provide significant benefits to the police service.”

Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, added: “This is a great way for people to support the work of the police and help in making people feel safe and be safe. Volunteers do a fantastic job and are an important part of the policing family. If you have some time and are looking for a new challenge, we would love to hear from you.”

Details of the role opportunities:

• Volunteer driver based in the Thirsk area: We are looking for responsible drivers who live in the Thirsk area and can be available at short notice. You could be asked to drive anything from a van to high-performance police patrol cars. This would be in a delivery capacity and not in operational circumstances.
• Vehicle checker for York: Vehicle checkers ensure our vehicles have all the equipment they need, that they are roadworthy, that the sirens and blue lights work and that they are clean, safe and ready for the road.
• Volunteer Manager for the Scarborough area:Volunteer managers assist with the recruitment and management of other volunteers and coordinate their deployment across the area.
• Survey analysts across North Yorkshire: Survey analysts contact victims of crime to check on the quality of service they have received

For more information  about each role and to apply, please visitwww.northyorkshire.police.uk/volunteers

North Yorkshire Police currently has around 170 Police Support Volunteers who carry out a variety of roles including: Role play, administration tasks, front counter services, quality control of calls to the police, survey analysts, vehicle drivers, vehicle checkers, community safety, Crucial Crew, Speed Watch and Rural Watch.

Meet some of our volunteers

Sarah – Vehicle checker based in York

Sarah Weatherstone, a student at the University of York, volunteers for North Yorkshire Police (NYP) as a vehicle checker in York, and as a role player for the training department.

We asked Sarah why she gives up her free time to help NYP. She said: “One of the greatest rewards of being a police volunteer is the feeling that you are helping the local police. I understand that working for the police can be a hectic role, with many different responsibilities. The idea that I can help with just a small part of an officer’s daily tasks is a great feeling. It also gives me the opportunity to meet like-minded people from a wide range of backgrounds.

“Volunteering for NYP also appealed to me as I am interested in joining the police when I leave university and I like to do something rewarding with my spare time. I also enjoy meeting new people outside of university.”

Sarah works every Sunday morning for around three hours, she took us through her day: “I start by checking that each vehicle is carrying the correct equipment and making a note of anything that’s missing. Next comes a condition check of the vehicle to make sure the tyres and lights are in good order, followed by a check of the sirens and emergency lights to ensure they are working to the correct standard”, she said.

“I maintain the oil and screen wash before joining a colleague to take the vehicles up to Fulford Road police station where we wash them and check the tyre pressures”, she added.

Inspector Lee Pointon of York Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “Sarah and her volunteer colleagues are really appreciated by everyone here. Their work means we can spend more time out in the community, helping victims, rather than being tied up with routine tasks that are essential but don’t need the knowledge of an officer or PCSO. It’s great to be able to start a shift knowing you’ll have everything you need in the car and won’t need to spend time checking it over or on maintenance. A clean, well-maintained vehicle is essential for safety and operational policing reasons. Thank you Sarah, for giving up your free time to help us, you do a great job! ”

One of the stand-out moments of Sarah’s volunteering was being part of an exercise for firearms training. She added: “I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the exercise. It gave me a great insight into an area of the police I had never seen before. I also found it very rewarding to be able to assist the officers in their training.”

“I wold recommend volunteering as the roles are so diverse and there is something for everyone to get involved in, regardless of how much spare time they have.”

John – Major Crime Unit administrator based in Harrogate

Retired sales and marketing director, John Padbury, is a volunteer in the Major Crime Unit at Harrogate. John joined NYP in June 2014 and works two days a week, providing a wide range of support for his colleagues in the unit.

He said: “When I retired I was looking for some regular voluntary work, and working for NYP sounded like it would be varied and interesting. It’s also a bonus working with in what is one of the nicest working environments I have ever worked in!

“My work can involve anything from proof-reading transcripts of interviews, assisting at inquests, to transporting urgent items across the force. It’s a very different type of work to my past employment in the aerospace industry. I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that I am helping members of the team and doing something useful.

“It’s good to feel part of a team and I would recommend volunteering to anyone if they are after varied, interesting and worthwhile work.”