Shannon W Unit 3: Citizenship, diversity and the public services P3, M1, D1
The benefits of volunteering and good citizens in the public services.
P3:
Volunteer working in the public services
There are several different voluntary organizations within the different public services. These
voluntary services are; Special constables for the police force, the Territorial Army, retained fire
fighters and St Johns ambulance. Having voluntary organisations within the public services also
comes with a few benefits. For example, being a special constable benefits the police force because
volunteers are not paid; therefore, they are not losing any money, they free up more time for
officers that deal with more serious crimes and the volunteers gain valuable experience which also
gives them an insight to what the police force actually does. The con of being a special constable is
that it requires a minimum of 16 hours’ duty per month which can be hard to fit into an average
person’s weekly routine.
Another example of a voluntary service is St John’s Ambulance. These are volunteers who offer their
own time to provide the Ambulance service with extra support. The volunteers are taught first aid
and they are community first responders which means they are on call to respond to emergencies if
they are closer than the ambulance to the scene. They also carry a defibrillator, oxygen kit, and first
aid. People have doubts about St John’s Ambulance because they are likely to turn up in their own
car with a sign saying ‘St John’s Ambulance’ and they would much rather have an ‘actual’ ambulance
turn up because they are believed to be better trained. Overall, having St John’s Ambulance helps
save the NHS money and the volunteers can both bring in new skills and take some away as well as
showing community spirit.
Volunteers in the community
As well as having volunteers within the public services, they also have volunteers working in the
community. Volunteers can help the community by; litter picking, mentoring, hosting youth/
community groups, charity shops, donations and having a standing order (a subscription to a
charity.) The benefits of having volunteers working in the community are; they provide a sense of
community to an area and a sense of pride in the surroundings. It can also give people something to
do in their spare time for example if they elderly and retired then they might enjoy giving something
back to the community.
Having volunteers and good citizens can also help protect the environment by doing simple tasks
such as litter picking, recycling, carrying out protests to save the environment and saving energy by
turning your lights off. Volunteers can also challenge injustice and make a positive difference to
improve society by standing up for those who have difficulty speaking for themselves and by
supporting fairness and equality. Having volunteers is also a benefit to the community because it
doesn’t come with any extra cost however; the down side to this is that not many people like to
work for free.
Another way volunteers can benefit the community is by giving offenders community service. They
will be given a set number of hours for community service and it involves tasks like litter picking. This
is an effective way to get jobs done that no one likes to volunteer for and it also serves as a
The benefits of volunteering and good citizens in the public services.
P3:
Volunteer working in the public services
There are several different voluntary organizations within the different public services. These
voluntary services are; Special constables for the police force, the Territorial Army, retained fire
fighters and St Johns ambulance. Having voluntary organisations within the public services also
comes with a few benefits. For example, being a special constable benefits the police force because
volunteers are not paid; therefore, they are not losing any money, they free up more time for
officers that deal with more serious crimes and the volunteers gain valuable experience which also
gives them an insight to what the police force actually does. The con of being a special constable is
that it requires a minimum of 16 hours’ duty per month which can be hard to fit into an average
person’s weekly routine.
Another example of a voluntary service is St John’s Ambulance. These are volunteers who offer their
own time to provide the Ambulance service with extra support. The volunteers are taught first aid
and they are community first responders which means they are on call to respond to emergencies if
they are closer than the ambulance to the scene. They also carry a defibrillator, oxygen kit, and first
aid. People have doubts about St John’s Ambulance because they are likely to turn up in their own
car with a sign saying ‘St John’s Ambulance’ and they would much rather have an ‘actual’ ambulance
turn up because they are believed to be better trained. Overall, having St John’s Ambulance helps
save the NHS money and the volunteers can both bring in new skills and take some away as well as
showing community spirit.
Volunteers in the community
As well as having volunteers within the public services, they also have volunteers working in the
community. Volunteers can help the community by; litter picking, mentoring, hosting youth/
community groups, charity shops, donations and having a standing order (a subscription to a
charity.) The benefits of having volunteers working in the community are; they provide a sense of
community to an area and a sense of pride in the surroundings. It can also give people something to
do in their spare time for example if they elderly and retired then they might enjoy giving something
back to the community.
Having volunteers and good citizens can also help protect the environment by doing simple tasks
such as litter picking, recycling, carrying out protests to save the environment and saving energy by
turning your lights off. Volunteers can also challenge injustice and make a positive difference to
improve society by standing up for those who have difficulty speaking for themselves and by
supporting fairness and equality. Having volunteers is also a benefit to the community because it
doesn’t come with any extra cost however; the down side to this is that not many people like to
work for free.
Another way volunteers can benefit the community is by giving offenders community service. They
will be given a set number of hours for community service and it involves tasks like litter picking. This
is an effective way to get jobs done that no one likes to volunteer for and it also serves as a
