Here is a really interesting blog from Dr Martin Wright. It centres on one aspect of his current work on Virtual Volunteering. As with all our contributors, he would really welcome your comments and feedback. His contact details are below.
The police value the many contributions made by volunteers, from Special Constables (SC) undertaking uniformed patrol to Police Support Volunteers (PSV) offering specialist advice on crypto-currency wallets. However, restrictions imposed upon the recruitment of volunteers, most notably through the requirements of vetting, limit the many opportunities for individuals, perhaps those with past criminal convictions or being less physically able to support the police.
In Wales police volunteering is being reimagined under a programme entitled Virtual Volunteering. The essence of the programme is the creation of an on-line environment wherein many thousands of individuals can engage in seeking a solution to policing problems – Virtual Volunteers. The initial partners in the programme are the South Wales Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU), named Tarian, the University of South Wales and the All Wales Citizens in Policing co-ordinator.
The university, through the department supporting students work placements, developed a site within the intranet which is named and branded as being from Tarian. The site provides several ‘modules’ that students can visit and complete with the system tracking the nature of their engagement, their completion of the modules and hours taken. The Tarian site provides an initial overview of the ROCU in the form of a video presentation from the Detective Chief Inspector (DCI). The site then focusses upon a number of policing problems to which students are invited to seek solutions.
The first such problem is related to Money Mules. Colleagues from Tarian faced a dilemma in creating prevent messaging for university students from China who were vulnerable to being influenced or coerced into allowing organised crime groups to have access to their UK bank accounts. Such Money Mules and sometimes family members faced threats and incidents of violence. Traditional approaches, such as providing advisory leaflets or lectures were found to be ineffective.
The modules within the Tarian site focussed upon this problem provide students with background information through the use of YouTube videos and case studies. The modules then pose a number of questions to the student to which they are invited to provide an answer. The module is not prescriptive in terms of the form such an answer should take and students are encouraged to be as innovative as they feel is appropriate. As the university intranet is available to every member of academic staff and student the modules and problems are structured in such a way that they seek to engage many different disciplines, for example psychology, criminology, childhood studies, computer science, accountancy, etc. In so doing it is planned the suggested answers will be as informed as is possible.
Engagement with Tarian is provided through a generic police e-mail address and it is planned that those students who complete the entire Money Mule programme and provide an answer will receive an e-letter of recognition from the DCI. It is expected, based upon initial feedback from academic staff, that the site will receive considerable attention from students. This will in turn generate a good number of proposed solutions, from papers to TikTok like videos.
To manage such Tarian are now planning to host a day of presentations at the university to determine the most effective prevent message and which it will then undertake to utilise. Further policing problems are now being developed by Tarian and it is expected the next will be related to e-Sports. Further sites are in development for each of the four Welsh police forces to complement the one now available to students from Tarian. The next phase of the Virtual Volunteers programme is to create similar such sites of engagement within individual police forces web-sites.
It is important to note a number of overarching principles built into the Virtual Volunteers programme. The first is it is not simply designed as a form of consultation. It is specifically intended to address the many real issues and problems faced by the police. It does though provide an opportunity for creating public engagement, reassurance and confidence in the police. Through raising the problems and difficulties faced by the police with potentially thousands of individuals it is hoped a greater level of understanding will be reached by them. In summary, Virtual Volunteering is a solution that is in operation now in Wales and one that is looking for policing problems.
The author would very much welcome feedback on the above and will undertake to answer every enquiry.
Dr Martin Wright
martin.wright@dyfed-powys.police.uk
martin.wright@southwales.ac.uk
The author is a Police Support Volunteer with Dyfed Powys Police. He retired from West Midlands Police in 2008 having served thirty years.