NCJ Number
169700
Journal
Telemasp Bulletin Volume: 3 Issue: 5 Dated: (August 1996) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1996
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This bulletin reports on findings regarding the use of volunteers in Texas police departments.
Abstract
Of the 30 departments responding to the survey, approximately 75 percent use volunteers. Most are part-time workers, and very few are retired police officers. The tasks of volunteers range from clerical assistance and data management to departmental maintenance and motorist assistance. For the most part, age, education, and gender are evenly distributed among volunteers. Only 14 percent of the departments have volunteer selection requirements equal to those for their regular personnel. To ensure volunteer quality, 73 percent of the departments perform background checks. Forty-two percent of the departments report having 1 to 10 training hours as the standard required for their volunteers. Twenty-five percent require 21 to 40 hours, and 21 percent require none. Fifty-seven percent of the departments reported a variety of dress codes for volunteers. Incentives to maintain and reward volunteers for the services they provide have been developed by many departments. The most popular (used by 60 percent of the departments) is a formal ceremony in which volunteers are recognized for their contributions. Only 23.3 percent of the departments reported having problems as a result of volunteer use. Approximately 27 percent of the responding departments do not use volunteers. Some of the reasons cited were anticipated legal problems, extensive supervisory requirements, and lack of reliability of volunteers. 19 references