Kathryn Cahalin

The mini-police is an innovative police engagement programme that is aimed at children aged 8–11 years in England and Wales. This article examines the perspectives of children who have participated in the mini-police programme filling a significant gap within the literature. Children voices were captured through a national online survey completed by 248 children who had been in the mini-police and 102 children who had not and 8 child-friendly creative workshops were held in 4 forces involving 56 children. The article suggests that participation in this programme can increase children’s understanding of what the police do, their trust in the police, and their desire to help others. Additionally, findings suggested that other positive impacts of participation include an increased self-identity, confidence, and sense of safety. This article argues that engaging younger children in programmes such as these can help to promote and support positive life course trajectories.

Internationally, there is a significant scale to police based uniformed youth organizations, however, discourses of value have usually emphasized the benefits to young people which has neglected other dimensions of value. In a climate where many such programmes face threats in terms of sustainability and relative police buy-in, there is considerable risk that the strategic and policy decision makers concerning the future of programmes make decisions based on a narrow understanding of value. This article is based on Police Scotland’s Youth Volunteer (PSYV) programme which supports over 750 young people to learn about policing and facilitates volunteering in their local communities. It considers different dimensions of value from the perspectives of young people in terms of them being beneficiaries, producers and designers of value. Police-based uniformed youth organizations, using the PSYV example, are demonstrated to offer unique environments for young people to play different roles with the police. As beneficiaries, young people were found to gain important skills such as confidence and learnt more about policing. As producers, young people generated important value to the community supporting local and national policing priorities. As designers, young people supported the development of the programme by providing feedback on problems and proposed new initiatives. By better understanding, developing, and appreciating the different roles young people played within the PSYV, each of which form distinct yet connected dimensions of value, as evidenced in this study, there is potential to reshape discourses of value concerning such programmes from benefits to young people.

The Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns presented significant challenges for policing: changing patterns of criminal behaviour, frequently shifting emergency regulations, resourcing pressures, and new dynamics in how police and citizens interacted with each other. However, the impact of the pandemic on volunteers in policing—in England and Wales, a cohort estimated between 7,211 Police Support Volunteers (PSVs) to up to 500,000 ‘citizens in policing’ who regularly give time in some capacity to support the police—has been largely overlooked. This article draws on a national benchmarking survey of PSVs in England and Wales conducted in 2021 (n = 1,305) to reflect on volunteering experiences during the pandemic. It considers the contribution that PSVs can make during challenging times and the importance of flexible and innovative tasking to capitalize on the volunteer offer. The article underpins the centrality of an adequately resourced police volunteer infrastructure to effectively mobilize volunteer resources on both a ‘business as usual’ basis, and during times of crisis.