Thank you to the thousands of dedicated volunteers across Avon and Somerset working to keep our communities safe

This National Volunteers’ Week we want to say thank you to all the incredible volunteers who regularly give their personal time to help keep our communities safe.

We have over 4,500 volunteers involved in almost every part of our policing work, right across Avon and Somerset. Every volunteer brings something new to our teams – sometimes a different life experience, or a particular skill or talent that helps us to better serve, protect and respect our communities. David in North Somerset uses his IT skills to help keep people safe at night, producing weekly reports to let our officers know where to keep their eyes on. Tom is using his skills gained as an Army engineer and medic to respond to emergency calls as a volunteer special police officer in South Gloucestershire. And a team of 50 volunteer cadet leaders empower over 115 young people to get involved in policing and bring their voices to help inform what we do.

We’re celebrating all our volunteers’ commitment by shining a light on some of the things they do in communities near you. Please join us by letting them know how appreciated they are.

Kieran is keeping Somerset West’s roads safer – educating drivers about the dangers of speeding

When a vehicle is recorded by our Community SpeedWatch scheme as speeding across Somerset West, volunteers Kieran and Lyn process the information sent to us by roadside volunteers, check all details are correct, and generate educational letters to the offending drivers.

PCSO Supervisor Sharon Baker said, “I am without doubt that the work Kieran and Lyn do for us as volunteers, educates drivers and as a result will directly reduce accidents on our roads, keeping Somerset West’s people safe. Kieran has supported our team for over 18 years and even carried on when he was able to during the Covid lockdowns. His dedication to working with the Road Safety Team and his colleagues in the Neighbourhood Policing Teams is really inspiring, and we thank Kieran and Lyn for all they do for the communities of Somerset West.” 

Kieran said, “I enjoy being a Police Support Volunteer because facing the challenges that I do it gives me a chance to contribute to my local community and focus on the issues that are of importance to them.”

Tom is using skills gained as an Army engineer and medic to respond to emergency 999 calls across South Gloucestershire

Tom is a Special Constable – a volunteer police officer role using his leadership skills from his previous background as an Army engineer and medic.

Police Constable Benjamin Clark said, “We are thankful Tom decided to share his skills with us by becoming a special constable. During a recent distressing and traumatic incident, Tom showed strong communication, leadership and professionalism throughout this incident and was able to use his skills from his previous background as an Army engineer and medic to help make sure a victim survived serious stab injuries and did not have any life changing injuries.”

Tom said, “Whether it be responding to various 999 calls, helping someone in need of safeguarding or generally helping support my regular colleagues I will usually end a shift thinking I have done something to help.”

Making sure communities are safe and preventing crimes through our Neighbourhood Watch schemes

We have 3,900 community watch volunteers, covering over 120k households across Avon and Somerset. These households are all safer because of what our volunteers do.

Liz Hughes, Chief Superintendent Neighbourhoods and Partnerships said, “When Storm Eunice struck in February this year, our 3,900 volunteers galvanized into action right across Avon and Somerset, quickly working together to make sure our communities were safe. This proves that Neighbourhood Watch is not only a fantastic resource for the prevention of crime, but it also provides a way for us to keep people safe in the most challenging of circumstances. Thank you to all our Neighbourhood Watch volunteers for everything you do.”

Bringing expertise in cyber security, helping to catch criminals

One of our dedicated volunteers supports our cyber team, using their skills in cyber security. They have supported complex digital investigations to make sense of difficult cyber challenges.

Detective Sergeant Tom Williams said, “We are grateful for the support our volunteer provides. It is a privilege to know and work with them. The value they add to our cyber team undoubtedly makes sure we are able to provide a better service to the communities of Avon and Somerset.”

There are many other volunteers, and we’d like to thank them all this week. If you work with, or know, one of our many volunteers please pass on your thanks too. Our communities are safer because of their dedication and commitment. If you’d like to put your talents and experience to good use by volunteering with us, you can view all our current volunteering opportunities and find out more information at Volunteer with us | Avon and Somerset Police