A national drive to recruit thousands of volunteers to fill key police roles was branded a ‘recipe for disaster’ last night.
Chief constables are spending £600,000 on drumming up an army of free labour to carry out scores of specialist roles.
Among the posts are jobs supporting elderly crime victims, monitoring CCTV networks, undertaking mounted patrols and even hostage negotiation.
Chief constables are spending £600,000 on drumming up an army of free labour to carry out scores of specialist police roles
They want members of the public to ‘step up’, saying it ‘takes the efforts of everyone’ to make our neighbourhoods safe.
But critics warned that ‘well-meaning amateurs’ can never replace professional, highly trained police officers.
One accused senior officers of trying to run policing like ‘Poundsavers’, highlighting that volunteers are unregulated and can withdraw their labour at any time.
There are already around 38,000 people working in more than 200 different voluntary roles across England and Wales.
But the number of special constables, who have full police powers of arrest but are only paid expenses, are at their lowest since 2006.
In September 2015, then Home Secretary Theresa May said she would extend the powers chiefs can give volunteers, but these measures are yet to come into force.
The latest move is the result of years of discussions between police chiefs, the Home Office and volunteer leaders.
They have established a national network of co-ordinators for specials and other volunteers to boost their ranks with people of all ages and backgrounds.
Critics have warned that ‘well-meaning amateurs’ can never replace professional, highly trained police officers (file photo)
A new ‘Citizens in Policing’ website includes dozens of vacancies from a CCTV operator in Norfolk to supporting elderly victims of crime in Lincolnshire.
Other roles include volunteers on horseback in Suffolk and administrative roles supporting officers specialising in child protection, domestic abuse and vetting.
Ben Priestley, of Unison, which represents thousands of civilian police staff, said the public should be ‘very worried’.
He said: ‘Well-meaning amateurs are a dangerous replacement for experienced police staff.
‘Volunteers have no employment contracts, so in an emergency they don’t have to turn out, and are impossible to hold to account if something goes wrong.
‘Roles such as CCTV monitoring, criminal investigation support and vehicle maintenance were previously done by trained staff.
‘With the UK’s threat level currently at ‘severe’, it is naive at best to think using volunteers in this way can ever be a replacement for operational policing.’
Ken Marsh, of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said the move is a ‘recipe for disaster’.
Ben Priestley, of Unison, (pictured) which represents thousands of civilian police staff, said the public should be ‘very worried’
‘We have to be very careful with specialist roles. If personnel are not trained and maintained correctly we will leave ourselves open to all sorts of disasters,’ he said.
‘Where will it end? You cannot run a police service as if it is Poundsavers.’
Steve White, who leads the Police Federation of England and Wales, said volunteers must ‘support police, not replace them’.
He said: ‘The role of volunteers has never been more important and driven by the same desire to protect others, officers will continue to welcome their support, but this is not a long term sustainable solution.’
The move was agreed at a recent meeting of chief constables where members were told volunteers benefit forces by up to £100million a year.
Around 48 policing organisations will contribute up to £12,000 a year to establish the network, which includes nine regional co-ordinators.
Announcing the network, North Yorkshire Chief Constable Dave Jones said he is ‘hugely grateful’ to those who already give their time for free.
‘However, it appears that there’s an awful lot of people who are simply unaware of the scale of opportunities that exist,’ he said.
‘Our ‘Step-Up’ campaign is about raising awareness of the exciting and numerous opportunities available, which range from cyber-related and hostage negotiation roles through to animal welfare and victim support posts.
‘Our message is simple, with over 200 different roles, there’s something for everyone, regardless of your age, gender or skills set.’
c.greenwood@dailymail.co.uk