Police cadets in the United Kingdom
Volunteer Police Cadets (VPC) is a nationally recognised uniformed police youth organisation which operates in most parts of the United Kingdom. It is one of several cadet youth organisations including the Army Cadet Force, Sea Cadets, Royal Marine Cadets, Air Training Corps and Fire Cadets. The Police Cadets teach young people skills in policing, and some may assist police officers with low-risk activities. The purpose of the VPC is not to recruit police officers of the future, but to encourage the spirit of adventure and good citizenship among its members.
The Police Cadets were founded in their current form by the Metropolitan Police Service in 1988 and are organised based on the territorial police forces. Membership is open to youths aged 13–18, and some branches include Junior Volunteer Police Cadets for those aged 10–13. Though advertised as giving an "insight" into British policing, it does not guarantee future employment.
The aims of the VPC are:
Branches[edit]
Scotland[edit]
The equivalent of the Police Cadets in Scotland is the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers (PSYV). The PSYV is not part of the Volunteer Police Cadets framework, but is listed as a partner agency and carries out similar work.
Established in 2013 with five groups in Aberdeen, Cumnock, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, PSYV members volunteered at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and other public events. The program has quickly expanded and today there are now twenty groups across Scotland from Stranraer to Shetland, with plans to expand further.
London[edit]
The founder and the largest cadet scheme are operated by the Metropolitan Police Service, with over 5,000 cadets as of March 2016. It was founded in 1988 by Commissioner Peter Imbert. By 2010, every London borough had a VPC unit, along with a central support team within the Territorial Policing Command Unit. Metropolitan Police Cadets are involved in continuing further education, DofE, learning about the police service, carrying out attachments to divisions and specialist departments, learning first aid, and engaging in community work projects with the disabled and disadvantaged. London Police cadets annually compete in a police scenario completion, which was traditionally held in Hendon, in North London, for the annual Police Cadet Competition. This involved cadets competing in a range of police activities and scenarios, in which they were competitively assessed. In 2015 the Metropolitan Police announced that the Cadet Competition was no longer to be held at Hendon due to the resizing of Hendon; some of the land was sold off for development. However, the Annual Cadet Competition continues a long tradition at the Gravesend public order site. 2013 also saw the launch of Junior Police Cadets, which accepts young people from school Year 6 to Year 9, at which point they become eligible to join the senior VPC.
On Sunday 14 June 2009, the Metropolitan Police Volunteer Police Cadets took part in what is believed to have been the largest ever formal parade of young people, to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the establishment of the Volunteer Police Cadet force in what was named as the "colour parade" and was carried out on Horse Guard's Parade. Each cadet troop was formally passed a Standard (flag) under the review of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, and other senior officers of the Metropolitan Police. The parade also included the showing of vintage police vehicles, police dogs, and a static display of the Boys' Brigade's London Massed Bugle Band. Bands that lead the four columns of a total of 1,400 cadets (and various police cadet staff, most of whom also hold different roles within the Metropolitan Police) were Metropolitan Police Pipe Band, the Nottingham-shire Police Pipe Band, the British Airways Brass Band, and the Enfield District Scout Band.
In 2011, Mayor Boris Johnson supported expanding the Metropolitan Police VPC by calling for numbers to be doubled by 2015. The Metropolitan Police VPC changed the age range from 14–19 to 10–24, introducing the UK's first Junior Volunteer Police Cadets scheme. The expansion target was achieved in March 2016.[7]
Investigations into abuse[edit]
Accusations of sexual abuse of Cadets by Police have led to investigations in the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police.[8]
Other UK Cadet Organisations