Comparing volunteer policing in Malaysia, England and Wales and the United States of America: cross-national findings

Abstract

PurposeThis article offers a tri-national comparison between Malaysia, England and Wales and the United States of AmericaDesign/methodology/approachIt is based on reviewing, collating, comparing and contrasting previous research findings and official reports on the topic with a view to identify recurrent commonalities in the three countries studied.FindingsThree key common themes are identified and presented in the article: (1) The relevance of the cultural positioning of volunteers in policing; (2) the importance of understanding the roles and capability of police volunteers; (3) recognizing prerequisites for recruitment of volunteers and the nature of their subsequent training.Research limitations/implicationsWe suggest that more detailed comparative studies of volunteer policing structures and officer roles would be valuable.Practical implicationsThe practice implications of these findings are discussed, and the potential value of and major challenges in carrying out cross-national national comparative study in the field of volunteer policing shown.Social implicationsThe paper discusses important issues in the role and value of police volunteerism to criminal justice and society.Originality/valueThere are few international comparisons of volunteer policing and even fewer that compare approaches between Western and Eastern countries. This is the first study to do so.