Introducing the Met Volunteer Programme

Aims and objectives Increase understanding about the MVP Overview of MVP volunteers MVP Volunteer activities Organisational benefits of MVP

What the Commissioner says…. “ The development of the Met Volunteer Programme in every Borough is the most visible symbol of a Met which wishes to make London safer together with the community, and I am immensely grateful to all those who are stepping forward to help in this way.” Sir Ian Blair 14 th March 2007

History of the MVP Volunteering is as old as the Met – the first police in London were unpaid Special Constabulary was established in 1831, with volunteers carrying out police work Volunteer Police Cadets began in 1987 to train young people between 14 and 21 to become good citizens MVP was established in 2001, to allow a wide range of members of the community to support their local police and add value to the work of their local police service. By 2006 the MVP was active in all 32 boroughs of the MPS

MVP today “The Met Volunteer Programme is not only the best of any statutory service provider I have ever seen; it is also an exemplar amongst all sectors.” (Volunteering England, 2006) The MVP operates across London Each Borough has its own MVP Manager The MVP Manager’s role is to recruit volunteers, to manage & support them and match each person’s skills to meet Borough requirements As of September 2007, there were 1247 volunteers in the MVP The mission of the MVP is to be the best volunteer programme in the public sector

Who volunteers? The MVP attracts men and women from all backgrounds, e.g: the full-time employed unemployed retired people school leavers those in full-time education Volunteers widely represent their communities Currently the MVP diversity mix is 35% compared to the last London census (29%) and the MPS mix of 11%

Who volunteers? (2) Volunteers must be over 18 years of age There is no upper age limit to volunteering Volunteers must have 3 years’ residency in the UK Volunteers must be positively security vetted Volunteers should live in the Borough in which they are volunteering Volunteers must provide 2 satisfactory professional references

Why volunteer? People volunteer for a range of reasons: to give something back to the community they want to assist the police but can only do so on a flexible basis they have skills & experience that they want to put to use for the police they have spare time (they may be retired or have children who have recently left home) which they want to put to valuable use

What do they do? Currently volunteers support the Met in areas such as: · Safer Neighbourhood teams · Assisting at front counters · Press and media · Victim and witness care · Youth Offending Teams · Criminal Justice Units · General administration

What do they do? (2) As MVP grows, more support needs are being identified and more roles are being developed. Volunteers give the benefit of their time and experience to support paid police staff A volunteer will NOT carry out any tasks for which a staff member has a statutory, moral or legal obligation to undertake on behalf of the MPS

Benefits of the MVP Internal Support police activity, freeing the trained personnel up to carry out the jobs they are trained to do Bring a wide range of experience and skills to the Borough Can provide an external / community perspective Have the ‘luxury of focus’ - i.e. can come in to concentrate on specific tasks for a short period Allow Borough budgets to be stretched

Benefits of the MVP External Closer ties with the local community representing a useful element of community engagement Act as advocates for the police within communities Raise profile of police in hard to reach groups Enhancing customer service and improving service delivery “Volunteers reflect the diversity of the local community and create links with it". Volunteering England

Some volunteers quotes "…it's a good feeling being needed again" “…I believe the MVP is about the Met reaching out to the community” “As a blind person I feel that I have been able to increase people’s awareness of disability which has been very rewarding”

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