Virtual Volunteers
A fantastic opportunity for students to volunteer with the police, crafting engaging answers to a variety of policing problems!
Virtual Volunteers
The Virtual Volunteers Programme was created in 2020 by Dr Martin Wright, a Police Support Volunteer with Dyfed Powys Police who sought to new avenues of volunteering opportunities.
Virtual Volunteers explores new forms of volunteering, enabling a diverse range of people to contribute to policing without having to undergo the processes of vetting and access routes. Individuals can volunteer at any time, using any mobile device, when they are in any location. They can offer solutions to policing problems, allowing them to consider complexities involved in crime, or undertake research and address questions raised during investigations.
At Dyfed-Powys Police, we have partnered with students at the University of South Wales to offer them an opportunity to engage online through Virtual Volunteers. The students access information related to crime problems via the university careers intranet site. They are asked to undertake research into the problems and address several complex and challenging questions by suggesting innovative and creative solutions. Because the students engage with us via the university page (and none of the information they access is confidential or restricted) it removes the requirement for onboarding, vetting or training.
The student suggestions are screened by academic & university staff with a professional and scholarly background in policing. This means only solutions that will help us are put forward. Every student who submits a suggestion, regardless of its usefulness or merit, is sent a letter of appreciation from the Chief Constable thanking them for volunteering their time.
One of the issues put forward was ‘Money Mules,’ where students from China were particularly vulnerable to being coerced into allowing organised crime groups to access to their UK bank accounts. The ‘Money Mules’, and sometimes family members, have faced threats and incidents of violence. The police wanted to warn international students about this but traditional approaches, such as providing advisory leaflets or lectures, were ineffective. Students submitted their ideas on a solution.
Are you interested in learning more?
You can reach out to Martin Wright with any questions by emailing [email protected]
Alternatively, Dyfed-Powys Police are hosting a series of online events for individuals to attend to learn more about the programme on the following dates:
11.11.26 – 14.00 hrs
24.11.26 – 14.00 hrs
10.12.26 – 11.00 hrs
16.12.26 – 15.00 hrs
If you have questions, want to know how your force can get involved, or simply want to become a volunteer, consider registering for our online meetings through the link below.