Volunteers celebrated across the community

Lancashire Constabulary Volunteer Police Cadets from Preston at their Attestation Ceremony at Blackburn's King George's Hall.

The force, which has more than 2,000 volunteers in action across the community, in local stations and at the Hutton headquarters, will be promoting their Citizen in Policing programme as part of the annual event which runs to June 12.

Throughout Volunteer’s Week the Constabulary will be looking at the roles volunteers do and learning more about why they volunteer. Its volunteers come from all walks of life and provide a wealth of valuable skills, knowledge, expertise and most importantly their time.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Bates said: “Volunteers are a vital and integral part of our organisation. Not only do we have the special constables and cadets, but our volunteers provide their specialist skills in areas such as the elderly and vulnerable.

“The benefits to us using volunteers are three fold; we can build and increase capacity and resilience through volunteers, build volunteering links within specialist departments and the use of specialist volunteers and add value to the communities.”

Volunteer roles at Lancashire Constabulary range from providing mentoring support to vulnerable adults, cadet leaders, restorative justice facilitators, special constables, community road watch, force chaplains and getting involved with specific departments such as CSI and Early Action.

Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner added: “We are lucky to have so many committed volunteers in Lancashire, who give up their time to give back to the community and support the police.

“I am proud of the work of all our volunteers – from the growing special constabulary, supporting regular police officers on the frontline, to independent custody visitors who check on the condition of people in custody – and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their efforts.

“As well as providing vital support and skills, many volunteers also find it highly rewarding and a way to gain new skills, which is why I am committed to increasing the number of volunteers supporting Lancashire Police.”