NORTH Yorkshire Police is taking the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to their 509 volunteers as the country marks National Volunteers’ Week, which ends on Sunday.

Police Support Volunteer Robert Fox volunteers in Logistics Support and has undertaken an impressive 126 duties over the last year totalling 688 hours.

This year the force’s volunteers have collectively contributed an impressive 29,117 hours of their time, playing a vital part in helping to keep the county safe, and helping the force to make a difference in North Yorkshire.

Over 3,700 of those hours have been volunteered since restrictions were put in place by the Government to combat the Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the UK.

The team of volunteers includes: 94 Special Constables who over the last year gave more than 19,707 hours of time to policing activities at North Yorkshire Police, which is an average of 34.65 hours per officer per month. ‘Specials’, as they are known have the same power, uniform and responsibilities as full-time police officers but volunteer on a part-time basis.

Often they mange their volunteering role alongside their normal employment.

During the force’s response to COVID-19, many have continued to complete their duties alongside their full time employment whilst some who have been furloughed, have been volunteering even more of their time to the frontline.

Anyone interested in joining North Yorkshire Police as a volunteer is encouraged to visit the website to find out further details: northyorkshire.police.uk/jobs

See more on Facebook #VolunteersWeek.