4. Chapter Four: PSV Motivations for Volunteering with the Metropolitan Police
4.5. Understanding and Responding to Changing Motivations
4.5.1. The Prominence of Self-Oriented Motivations
The data in this study point clearly to the transitory nature of volunteer motivations: the reasons that people commence volunteering may not mirror those that encourage them to continue to give their time. The direction of these shifting motivations – towards social drivers and retreating from career-focused goals – reflects themes in broader studies of volunteering.
Indeed, social incentives – those that drive The Social PSV, whose presence grew when considering continuing motivations – have been shown to hold particular resonance for volunteers in terms of their overall experiences within an organisation, and are recognised as
strong motivators for ongoing volunteering more generally. While altruistic factors (or, indeed, personal development-focused drivers for The Career PSV in this study) can form an important part of initial motivators, enduring involvement is often driven by volunteers’
experiences of personal advantages including social service, self-confidence, and self-esteem (Omoto and Snyder, 1995; Laverie and McDonald, 2007).
The Career PSV cohort in this study exhibited significant downward trends when comparing continuing motivations to initial drivers. Although some studies – most notably those focusing on Special Constables (e.g., Pepper, 2014; Whittle, 2014) – have demonstrated clear career development motivations amongst volunteers, with estimates of up to three quarters of volunteer officers aspiring to be part of the regular service, this theme is a less common feature across wider volunteering literature. Indeed, Pavlova and Silbereisen (2014) suggest that most volunteers do not offer their time primarily to gain skills to secure employment, but because they want to feel like they are being helpful and connecting with the mission of the organisation. In this context, PSVs may present more similarities with volunteers more generally, rather than their Special Constable colleagues. Indeed, within the more limited pool of police volunteer specific literature, van Steden and Mehlbaum (2019) noted that career related motivations ranked lower within the Dutch voluntary force – perhaps driven by the inclusion (albeit marginal compared to volunteer officers) of PSV-type volunteers in this study sample.
4.5.2. Responding to Changing Motivations
The experiences that volunteers have within the organisation where they give their time, and the extent to which these experiences fulfil their motivations, are influential in terms of how they perceive and perform their roles, and their likelihood to continue (Grube and Piliavin, 2000; Penner, 2002). As outlined in Chapter Two, previous studies in this area (e.g., Omoto and Snyder, 1995; Clary and Snyder, 1999; Davis et al., 2003) have highlighted the influence of initial and ongoing fulfilment of these motivations, and the extent to which volunteers’
experiences within the organisation responds to these drivers, on volunteer behaviours and commitment to their role. Individuals generally engage in volunteering because it connects with specific goals or needs, and how (if at all) the organisation appeals to and acknowledges
the importance of these personal motives is persuasive in terms of volunteer satisfaction and intention to continue to give their time (Omoto and Snyder, 2002; Penner, 2002; Chambre and Einholf, 2011; Millie, 2018).
Individuals are more satisfied with their volunteer roles and continue to give their time when the experiences that they have within an organisation fulfil their motivations for choosing to help. As this chapter has highlighted, those motivations can shift, therefore it is important for organisations to understand not only why people initially join as a volunteer, but why they remain (Finkelstein, 2008). Indeed, given the notable shift towards personal social benefits as volunteer service progresses, Omoto and Snyder (1995: 683) assert that organisations may want to stress the ways in which volunteers personally benefit from giving their time, rather than just emphasising how their efforts benefit others.
4.6. Chapter Summary and Conclusion
This chapter has explored the motivations of Police Support Volunteers in this study, creating typologies to capture the features of three main drivers emerging from the data – The Altruistic PSV, The Social PSV and The Career PSV. Those who volunteered for altruistic purposes – to make a positive difference, do something worthwhile, and support the police service – were the most frequently represented PSVs in this study, followed by socially motivated individuals (pursing a role that is interesting or exciting, a chance to get to know other people, or offering something to do in their spare time), and those engaged in volunteering primarily for personal development or career-focused purposes. However, motivations are not static. PSVs that took part in this study clearly illustrated the fluidity of volunteer motivations, with notable shifts towards social drivers and a retreat from career-focused goals as the volunteer ‘journey’ progressed. Given the influence of motivation fulfilment on volunteers’ morale, experiences, feelings of satisfaction, and intention to continue to volunteer, understanding and responding to motivations is paramount to effectively involving volunteers in an organisation.
Despite the arguable ‘peculiarities’ of the police organisation as a volunteering environment (a state-funded and directed agency which needs to remain entirely functional in the absence of volunteers), the reasons that PSVs in this study chose to give their time freely reflected those highlighted in previous studies of volunteering across a broader context: altruistic (associated with the needs of society) and egoistic (associated with personal need), with individuals often drawing on elements of each when commenting on their personal motivations (Laverie and McDonald, 2007; Rochester et al., 2012). Callender et al. (2019: 395) argue that, while learning gathered in non-police organisations offer insight, a ‘false universalism’ for volunteer practice and experience should be resisted. While developing an understanding of the specific police volunteering environment is vital, this chapter has demonstrated that there is much relevant insight to be gained from broader studies of volunteering with commonality across themes identified. That said, the distinct aspects of volunteering in policing does deserve specific attention, separate from both volunteers in non-police setting and paid and/or warranted staff within a police environment.
While the ‘draw’ to volunteering – whether driven by altruistic, social, or career goals – is associated with the individual, the extent to which volunteers achieve satisfaction and
‘motivation fulfilment’ is dependent upon the experiences that they have within the organisation itself – in this study, the police service. The next three findings chapters move the discussion beyond individual features of the volunteer and their motivations for giving their time, to consider these wider contexts in which they do so, exploring the contribution they feel able to make, their experiences alongside officers and paid members of staff within the organisation, and the extent to which volunteering is invested in through means of an appropriate infrastructure. The motivation typologies developed in this chapter – The Altruistic PSV, The Social PSV and The Career PSV – will continue to be used as a ‘lens’ through which to view data in order to explore similarities and differences in experiences of being a PSV in the Metropolitan Police Service.