Volunteering

O police powers 0810 n behalf of the residents of East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, the Police and Crime Commissioner ensures that Humberside Police works well and meets the needs of its communities.

The Commissioner also has to make sure that Humberside Police are helping to deliver on the Police and Crime Plan

To do this, the Commissioner ‘scrutinises’ certain issues and activities, through members of the public and representatives from specialist agencies.

These activities include:

Use of Police Powers: local volunteers scrutinise the police use of powers (including Use of Force and Stop & Search) through group discussions and interpretation of police records, statistics and site visits, and how this impacts on our communities. For more information click here.
Hate Crime: local volunteers scrutinise common themes and trends in the statistics and decision-making process and how this impacts on diverse and vulnerable communities. For more information click here.
Custody Visiting: local volunteers make unannounced visits across our two custody suites to check and report on the welfare of people being held there. For more information click here.

In addition to scrutiny undertaken by Scrutiny Volunteers and external professionals, it is worth noting that the Commissioner also undertakes an internal assurance role, fulfilled in several ways including regular assurance conversations and one-to-one briefings with Chief Officers from Humberside Police.

Our office also hosts a Joint Independent Audit Committee (JIAC) and Accountability Board, the latter of which provides the principle way that the Commissioner holds the Chief Constable to account.

Custody Scrutiny Panel: Independent members who look to scrutinise police powers used in custody settings, as well as wider issues that cannot be addressed through our custody visiting scheme. For more information click here.

THE ROLE OF A SCRUTINY VOLUNTEER

A significant part of our scrutiny consists of members of the public helping the Police and Crime Commissioner check that Humberside Police is working well and ethically.

The findings from our scrutiny groups help to inform our Independent Ethics and Scrutiny Board. This Board in turn helps to inform Police and Crime Commissioner's discussions with the Chief Constable and others. Scrutiny Volunteers are vital because they:

Provide real life experiences.
Generate new ideas and ways of doing things.
Challenge assumptions about existing ways of working.

They check and challenge issues and report their findings so that the wider public can have confidence in Humberside Police through helping to influence the decisions that the Commissioner makes.

They provide the opportunity to do things differently, to learn and to progress. Find out more in the video below.

Are you interested in becoming a volunteer? Click here to find out about our volunteering opportunities, who we are looking for and apply to join our team.

Click here to read our latest blog - August 2024

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We understand that the opportunities we offer may not be for everyone. There are other volunteer organisations that help our local communities. Below are links to some organisations that may hold more suitable roles to your needs:

Hull - time2volunteer.org/

North Lincolnshire - www.livewellnorthlincolnshire.org.uk/north-lincolnshire-alliance-volunteer-hub/#/

North East Lincolnshire - vanel.org.uk/va/

East Riding of Yorkshire - ervas.org.uk/