Stevenage Borough Council joins Employer Supported Policing Scheme

National Volunteers’ Week and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire are proud to welcome Stevenage Borough Council as the latest organisation to join its Employer Supported Policing (ESP) scheme.

Under ESP, businesses work with Hertfordshire Constabulary to offer their employees time off to volunteer as Special Constables. In turn, the business receives a highly trained and skilled member of staff who still carries out their usual "day job" but with the added benefits of police training and experience.

As volunteer police officers, Specials have all the same powers as regular officers - including the power to arrest. They develop a huge variety of transferable skills, such as resilience, customer focus and communication, and these skills are applied back in their day job.

ESP offers great flexibility – for example, whilst some businesses offer the employee/Special Constable unpaid leave, others offer paid leave. Each business can choose the level of involvement to suit their individual circumstances.

The scheme is free to any company wishing to join and is fully funded by the Home Office.

Alicia Loxley, the constabulary’s ESP lead, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Stevenage Borough Council onto our ESP scheme. They are now one of many local companies who are helping us keep the public safe.

“ESP allows police to learn about the issues which matter to local businesses and offers benefits in terms of staff wellbeing and development, as well as recruitment and retention. In addition to promoting Corporate Social Responsibility, ESP is a great way for organisations not only to demonstrate that they are a responsible business but to also actively provide their employees with greater flexibility to support policing in the community through volunteering.

“If you are a business owner or you are thinking about becoming a Special Constable, please get in touch at [email protected].”

ESP is endorsed by the Police Crime Commissioner David Lloyd in his Criminal Justice Plan for Hertfordshire. Mr Lloyd said: “The Special Constabulary are a vital part of Hertfordshire Constabulary, often bringing with them different skills which can be used to great effect in policing. Volunteering as a Special is also a challenging and rewarding role which is different to many other volunteering opportunities and brings benefits to the individual who take part.

“It is great that Stevenage Borough Council have joined the scheme and I would encourage other organisations across the county to get involved.”

Councillor Sandra Barr, Executive Member for Community, Neighbourhoods, Co-operative Councils and Children and Young People, said: “We believe that “The Heart of a Town Lies in its People” and many of our employees both live and work within Stevenage, they care about the town, the community and its people and volunteering has a vital role to play in achieving this.

“Joining ESP further endorses our commitment in encouraging our employees to undertake volunteering days to support our local community.  These opportunities enable our staff to gain valuable skills and abilities, different to those in their everyday lives, which in turn will benefit their work, while giving something back too.”