Recruiting Volunteers

Police forces wishing to engage communities through volunteering compete against well-respected organisations with many years of experience. Ensure you employ a consistent approach to recruitment, selection and placement.

The voluntary sector is a highly competitive marketplace. Forces need to identify roles and put in place systems which will attract and retain volunteers.

The recruitment, selection and placement processes should form part of the policy statement ensuring a consistent approach. Issues to be considered include:

Defining recruitment and marketing messages
Designing appropriate recruitment literature
Developing a police support volunteer application form that meets the needs of the force
Defining the criteria for accepting or rejecting police support volunteers, eg age restrictions, precluded occupations, previous convictions, nationality issues and refugee status, health matters, conflicts of interest, individuals claiming benefits, etc
Volunteer vetting procedures eg security checks, references
Developing an appropriate interview process to include questions relating to diversity
Matching volunteers to suitable placements.

Useful Documents

These documents are supplied as examples of good practice by participating forces.

Volunteering England

Sample Application Form

Sample Health Questionnaire

Example of Occupational Health Procedure

Example Volunteer recruitment poster (A3)

Example Volunteer recruitment poster (A4)

Example Volunteer recruitment flyer (A5)

Example Volunteer recruitment website