Special event recognises police volunteers
THE contributions of volunteers will be celebrated during a special weekend event hosted by Warwickshire Police and Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe.
June and will include around 130 people from across Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police. The event comes at the conclusion of National Volunteers’ Week on Saturday 9
Mr Seccombe said: “Volunteers make a huge contribution to keeping communities safe and, with my own background with the Territorial Army, I have been extremely keen to encourage the volunteering ethos as much as possible.
At the gathering at West Mercia Police’s headquarters at Hindlip Hall, the volunteers will be welcomed by Mr Seccombe before taking part in a variety of sessions, demonstrations and discussions from key speakers from across the alliance.
Mr Seccombe added: “This event is a great opportunity to say a big thank you to all those who give their time to help put something back into their communities and also give them a voice in shaping the future of volunteering in the two forces. I hope the range of presentations will enable all attending to also feel they have extra knowledge and skills which they can take back to their communities and put to good use.”
Among those attending will be Special Constables, Police Cadets, Police Support Volunteers, Independent Advisory Group members, OPCC volunteers and members of the Executive Committees for Warwickshire and West Mercia Neighbourhood Watch groups.
The day will include a talk from Worcester University about forensic crime scene investigations; discussions around the future of Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police's Citizens in Policing Programme; a demonstration from the Police Cadets and a session around business and rural crime initiatives.
The day will finish with a talk about the benefits of volunteering before a closing address from Richard Moore the Assistant Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police.
Citizens in Policing Programme Manager, Sian Battle-Welch, said: "We are really excited to welcome so many volunteers to Hindlip Hall for a day of invaluable learning and guidance.
“Our police support volunteers and Special Constables have contributed 149,364.75 hours across the alliance in 2017 and 2018.
“This is just a fraction of the overall voluntary contribution made by all volunteers who work within or support Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police.”
Warwickshire Police and Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe