Volunteering Matters - Neighbourhood Watch

GUEST ARTICLE - THAMES VALLEY POLICEBirthdays, Volunteers and David CameronTime constantly advances; it is oftenperceived as the older we get the less wewill do. That is a notion that has beenchallenged by three of our volunteershere at Thames Valley Police. MargaretHarrison, Anne Topham and FrankSteiner are 90 years old this year.Between them they have given toThames Valley police force almost 15years of volunteering, not to mentionthe 270 years of life experience whichthey bring to their roles.It was only proper to celebrate thisachievement and in time honouredtradition, they celebrated with cake. Onthe afternoon of the 26th of September2012 guests wereinvited along withtheir friends andfamily to celebratethe three eldestpolice supportvolunteers inThames ValleyPolice andprobably thecountry.The afternoon wasa rainy one, ourhonourednonagenariansand their guestsarrived to begreeted with white table cloths, tea,sandwiches and cakes. Julie Pink, thevolunteer development manager andguest speaker, welcomed all of them asthey arrived. The chatter built to theappropriate level and the party hadbegun.Richard Bennett, Assistant ChiefConstable in charge of the extendedpolice family, arrived. Another of theguest speakers he immediately set aboutthe important task of pouring tea for theguests. Sara Thornton, Thames ValleyPolice Chief Constable, then arrivedappropriately wearing, as she said ‘herparty dress’. She took time talking to allof the guests before she officiallywelcomed everyone and began thespeeches.Sara, Julie and Richard all spoke aboutthe gratitude Thames Valley Police haveto their volunteers. How they are part ofthe community we serve and how theyare an important part of the policingfamily. The speeches were finished witha letter sent by David Cameron to thevolunteers, in which he wrote:“Volunteers are the core of Britain’s civilsociety, an indispensable resource for thevoluntary sector and in many publicservices. I would like to take thisopportunity to recognise the outstandingwork that Thames Valley Policevolunteers do. A strong voluntary andcharitable sector is crucial to building abigger and stronger society. My vision forthe Big Society rests on the fact that inour communities there are individuals,like you, businesses and charities that areoften better placed to confront theproblems our country faces than theState. I want to take power out of thehands of bureaucrats and give it to thepeople working on the front line whoknow what is best for a service and whocan help us provide better services moreefficiently. I hope that you have anenjoyable day today and thank you againfor all your years of hard work.”SALFORD’S YOUNGEST HOME WATCH MEMBERScott may be a good thirty years younger than the averageHome Watch member but that hasn’t stopped him gettinginvolved and keeping his community safe.Nineteen-year-old Scott from Irlam joined the local HomeWatch two years ago. He was convinced to join afterspeaking with PCSO Mark Fitzgerald and has got involved ina range of different tasks from leaflet dropping to helpingout at crime prevention days. He has also delivered apresentation to more than 50 members.Outside of Home Watch, Scott is a full time student and isplanning to go to University in September to study policing.He hopes to become a police officer in the future.PCSO Mark Fitzgerald said: “Young people aren’t usuallyinterested in joining home Watch because it seems oldfashioned and it isn’t ‘cool’ for young people to associatewith the police. However, Scott has proved what a massivedifference Home Watch can make.“Not only has he learnt new skills but he has helped thepolice gather intelligence and keep crime down and I’mreally grateful.“Home Watch in this area has been running for 10 years andis extremely successful. I appreciate the efforts not only ofScott but of every single one of our members. We couldn’tdo the job we do without them.”NINEScott said: “Young people aren’t usually interested in joiningHome Watch because it seems old fashioned but I reallyenjoy getting involved and giving something back to mycommunity.“I’m proud of where I live and want to make a difference.I’ve taken part in some great tasks and met the ChiefConstable when he attended one of our Home Watchmeetings.“My friends and family have been really supportive and I’durge anybody, regardless of age, to get involved and helpmake their area a safer place to live.”