Celebrating our volunteers

As you’ve seen over the last week, we have a host of volunteers who help to keep our communities safe.

We’re proud of everyone that takes the time to volunteer for us and have enjoyed celebrating them during #VolunteersWeek.

To finish the week, we’ve spoken to Andrew Wilson a member of our police staff who has been working with three new Police Support Volunteers (PSVs) to help bring a new project to life within Derbyshire.

Andrew said, “During 2023, three new volunteers have been welcomed into the ANPR Management Unit, which works to prevent illegal cars from using our roads. The unit took on the volunteers after receiving a higher workload and needing some extra support.

“The new projects the department has recently taken on have been beyond the standard roles carried out by the unit staff. This gave us an ideal opportunity to embed three PSVs to assist in this extra workload.

“The volunteers have been trained to use multiple force systems which enable them to carryout valuable intelligence checks to identify which recently disqualified drivers have continued to drive. The work generates intelligence of when and where disqualified drivers are believed to be using the road network, allowing for our roads policing team to intercept and seize vehicles.

“All three volunteers either hold a policing degree or are studying towards one. They deliver value to the unit, in turn the experience allows them to put into practice the theories studied at university. One of the PSVs is hoping to write a thesis on links between disqualified driving and other areas of criminality, whilst another of the volunteers has recently been successful in an application to join Derbyshire Constabulary as a permanent member of staff.

“It goes to show what a volunteering opportunity can do to enhance your career, and how a person’s time can directly impact the communities we live in.