The motivations and initial training of volunteer leaders with the Volunteer Police Cadet (VPC) scheme

This research explores the recruitment and training of the Volunteer Police Cadet (VPC) scheme.

Key details

Lead institution
Principal researcher(s)
Dr Ian Pepper, Visiting Professor
Police region
North East
Collaboration and partnership

Professor Colin Rogers, University of South Wales.

Level of research
Professional/work based
Project start date
Date due for completion

Research context

The Volunteer Police Cadet (VPC) scheme is a uniformed youth organisation for young people from the ages of 13 to 18. There are over 18,000 cadets across England and Wales supported by approximately 2,500 volunteer leaders, who are crucial for the effective delivery of the scheme.

The attraction, recruitment and initial training of these volunteers is crucial and explored through this research.

Research methodology

The methodology adopted utilises an online questionnaire to explore the experiences of VPC leaders in six schemes delivered across six forces in order to consider four themes.

  1. Attractions to volunteer as a VPC leader.

  2. Motivations for volunteering.

  3. Initial training.

  4. General questions about being a volunteer.

Interim reports or publications

Pepper, I. & Rogers, C. (2021). Police Cadet Leaders across England and Wales: Exploring the motivations of these volunteers. Voluntary Sector Review. 13 (2), pp. 278-294.

Colin Rogers and Ian Pepper; Volunteers in policing: A vehicle for increased representativeness?; Transforming Society; 15th March 2022

Pepper, I. & Rogers, C. (2022). Volunteer police cadet leaders in England and Wales: Economic benefits to Policing. European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin.

Pepper, I. and Rogers, C. (2022), "Valuing volunteers: emerging trends in the training of Volunteer Police Cadet Leaders", Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice 

Was this page useful?

Do not provide personal information such as your name or email address in the feedback form. Read our privacy policy for more information on how we use this data

What is the reason for your answer?
I couldn't find what I was looking for
The information wasn't relevant to me
The information is too complicated
Other