Do you have what it takes to be a volunteer?
#VolunteersWeek is an opportunity to recognise all our amazing volunteers who give their time free of charge to help make our communities safer. It’s also an opportunity to raise awareness of the array of volunteering roles within the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), Essex Police and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
If you have time to offer and want to make a real difference in your community, there are a number volunteering roles that might suit you. They range from offering crime prevention advice, joining one of the police watch schemes to becoming an on call firefighter.
The PFCC works with three different types of volunteers – restorative justice and mediation volunteers, independent custody volunteers and dog welfare volunteers.
The Essex Restorative and Mediation Service volunteers work with those involved in crime or conflict to support them in finding mutually agreed outcomes. The scheme allows victims of crime and anti-social behaviour to get answers, and those responsible for the harm an opportunity to make amends.
Volunteers also work with the PFCC to carry out the statutory Independent Custody Visitor scheme. The scheme sees volunteers visit police station custody suites to check on the treatment of detainees, the conditions they are held in and that their rights and entitlements are being met.
If you are interested in volunteering with us, you can find out more at PFCC Volunteering
Could you be an on-call firefighter? On-call firefighters have everyday lives and jobs, until their pager sounds; then they immediately make their way to the fire station. They don’t work for a back-up team or a second-rate crew. On-call firefighters are professional firefighters, on the front line, saving lives. You can learn more at ECFRS on call firefighters
Or how about becoming an Essex Police Active Citizen? Active Citizens play a vital role in making our communities safer and less vulnerable to crime and antisocial behaviour. Many of our Active Citizens work with our community policing teams, but there are also opportunities to work alongside some of our specialist teams too. These include our Fraud Prevention Team, Hate Crime Team, Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) Team and our Cyber and Digital Forensic Team. Find out more at Essex Police Volunteer Roles