Supervising, Supporting and Developing PSVs

PSVs responding to the survey conducted as part of this study were asked about their experiences of supervision, support, and development in the Metropolitan Police Service via a series of seven statements: ‘I am given the resources I need to carry out my tasks’; ‘I have good supervision’; ‘I get regular feedback’; ‘I received an induction introducing the organisation and my role within it when I first started volunteering’; ‘I have access to training to help me develop in my role’; ‘Opportunities (e.g. trying new roles, shadowing other people etc.) are available to help me develop in my role’; and ‘I know how to get support if I need it to help me in my role’. It was not possible to extrapolate similar themes from PSV interview data, therefore this section reports on survey data only.

Responses indicated high levels of agreement to some statements, with the majority of PSVs stating that they had good supervision (81%, n=106/131), received an induction when they firstly started volunteering (92%, n=118/128), and knew where to get support if they needed it to help them in their role (87%, n=117/134). (‘neither agree nor disagree’ was the next most common response category (16%, n=21/131, 3%, n=4/128, and 7%, n=10/134 respectively), then disagree (between four and seven respondents). However, there were notably higher levels of uncertainty in relation to statements around being given the resources to carry out tasks (72%, n=95/132 agreed, 17%, n=22/132 neither agreed nor disagreed, 11%, n=15/132 disagreed), receiving feedback (57%, n=74/129 agreed, 27%, n=35/129 neither agreed nor disagreed, 16%, n=20/129 disagreed), and having access to training (58%, n=72/124 agreed, 27%, n=34/124 neither agreed nor disagreed, 15%, n=18/124 disagreed), and other opportunities (e.g., trying new roles, shadowing other people) to develop (39%, n=46/119 agreed, 40%, n=48/119 neither agreed nor disagreed, 21%, n=25/119 disagreed)¹⁸.

18 Similar to the previous chapter (see section 6.2.2), elevated levels of ‘middle ground’ responses here (compared to data included in chapter

7.2.1. Views on Supervising, Supporting, and Developing PSV by Role and Motivation Typology

Analysis of responses to statements around management, support, and development (minus

‘I received an induction introducing the organisation and my role within it when I first started volunteering’ which almost all (92%, n=118/128) PSV respondents agreed with) highlighted some differences by role and motivation typology (see appendix I, table I for a full breakdown of data). There was proportionately greater agreement amongst The Non-Operational PSV around having access to resources (77%, n=41/53), and feeling that they have good supervision (86%, n=44/51), receive feedback (65%, n=34/52), and know where to get support (94%, n=51/54), compared to their operational counterparts (67%, n=50/75, 76%, n=57/75, 51%, n=37/73, 82%, n=62/76 respectively). However, it was The Operational PSV that were slightly more likely to agree (albeit still relatively low) that they had access to training (60%, n=44/73)and opportunities to develop (43%, n=30/69), compared to The Non-Operational PSV (53%, n=25/47 and 30%, n=14/46 respectively). The survey did not probe for reasons behind these responses; however it is possible that the tasks that operational PSVs undertake (front counter services, viewing CCTV images, Volunteer Police Cadet support) expose them more readily to training and development opportunities – although sometimes alongside officers and staff and within working environments where access to resources, supervision, feedback, and support was perhaps more limited.

These features were also notable amongst motivation typologies – both initial and continuing.

In terms of initial motivations, The Social PSV was the most likely to agree that they were given resources to carry out their task and provided with feedback in their voluntary role.

Turning to continuing motivations, The Career PSV was most likely to agree that they had access to training and opportunities to develop. Given the personal advancement-focused drivers for volunteering for this cohort, it is logical that access to training and opportunities to develop was important to The Career PSV, and an influential factor in their decision to continue to give their time.

7.2.2. The Influence of Supervision, Support, and Development on Satisfaction Reflecting findings presented around motivations in Chapter Four, contributions in Chapter Five, and experiences in Chapter Six, some of the most notable trends in statement responses emerged when variables around supervision, support, and development were cross-tabulated – with each other and alongside feelings about role and of role satisfaction. For example, survey respondents who felt that they were given the resources to carry out their tasks were proportionately more likely to feel that they had good supervision, got regular feedback, had access to training and opportunities to develop, knew how to get support, and were generally satisfied in their roles, compared to those PSVs who neither agreed nor disagreed or disagreed that they were given resources. This trend was seen across variables e.g., PSVs who agreed that they had good supervision were more likely to agree with statements around access to resources, feedback, training, development opportunities, and support, and more likely to feel satisfied in their role compared to PSVs who did not agree that they had good supervision, and so on (see appendix I, table J for a full breakdown of data).

Furthermore, PSVs who agreed that they were used effectively in their role and had enough tasks – features identified in Chapter Five as influential in terms of positive feelings around making a valid contribution as a volunteer – were proportionately more likely to agree with statements around feeling managed, supported and developed, while those who felt they were not used effectively or did not have enough tasks were considerably less likely to feel well supervised, supported, or developed. Successful development of volunteer programmes, including each of the features outlined here – feeling managed, supported, and developed in roles where volunteers are adequately tasked, and have access to resources and feedback – has been linked to the presence of a paid volunteer manager or coordinator (Brudney, 2000;

Bullock, 2017). It is to this matter that the chapter now turns, exploring the role of the volunteer manager in policing, and the importance that PSVs in this study attached to their volunteer managers.