NCJ Number
155939
Date Published
1986
Length
4 pages
Annotation
A survey regarding the nature and extent of volunteers serving in support roles with police agencies or sheriffs' departments revealed general support for the concept and that volunteers are assisting in almost every aspect of law enforcement work.
Abstract
More than 2,300 police agencies and individuals voluntarily completed survey questionnaires. The research emphasized program description rather than evaluation and focused more on citizen volunteers providing support to law enforcement agencies in direct ways and less on the self- help community crime prevention volunteerism that is widespread throughout the country. The analysis revealed that volunteers represent all segments of society and that age and sex are not barriers to their productive involvement. The main resistance to volunteers comes from paid sworn staff, who are concerned about job security, loss of overtime pay, personal safety, and professionalism. Law enforcement officials surveyed predict that the concept of volunteerism will become institutionalized within law enforcement agencies by the year 2000. Figure