Police Youth Volunteers
Police Youth Volunteers
South Wales Police Youth Volunteers (PYVs) are an important part of the police family.
The PYV scheme is for those aged between 13 and 18, and is part of a police uniformed youth group recognised throughout the UK. It is not about recruiting police officers, but aims to develop a sense of good citizenship in young people.
The scheme has five objectives:
- To encourage the spirit of adventure and good citizenship.
- To support local policing priorities through volunteering.
- To give young people a chance to be heard.
- To inspire young people to participate positively in their communities.
- To promote a practical understanding of policing amongst all young people.
It’s an excellent opportunity and will look great on your CV when you start applying for work or to colleges and universities.
We are now accepting expressions of interest to join a local hub. This can be done online here.
We accept expressions of interest from those who are between 12 and a half and 17 years old, and reside within the force area. Your expression of interest will be registered on the central waiting list and your parent/guardian will be contacted by a local PYV Coordinator who will advise you whether there is any space in your local PYV hub. If there is a space, then your parent/guardian will be sent the Application form. Unfortunately, if the PYV hub is full, then you will remain on the waiting list until a space becomes free. The expressions of interest are kept in date order, so it is fair to everyone.
Please note that the scheme is very popular and as a result, in some areas there is a longer wait to join.
We currently have 11 PYV Hubs, based in Cardiff, Bridgend, Barry, Swansea, Port Talbot, Pontypridd and Merthyr Tydfil.
| Hub Location | Day |
| Barry - Pencoedtre High School, Merthyr Dyfan Road, Barry, CF62 9YQ | Tuesday evening |
| Cardiff Central - Cathays High School, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3XG | Wednesday evening |
| Cardiff South - Grange Pavilion, Grange Gardens, Cardiff, CF11 7LJ | Monday evening |
| Cardiff East - Glenwood Church Centre, Glenwood off Circle Way West, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff, CF23 6UW | Thursday evening |
| Cardiff West - St Vincent’s Centre, Mill Road, Ely, Cardiff, CF5 4AG | Friday |
| Swansea - Dylan Thomas Community School, John Street, Cockett, Swansea, SA2 0FR | Monday evening |
| Swansea East - Bishop Vaughan Catholic School, Mynydd Garnllwyd Road, Morriston, Swansea, SA6 7QG | Tuesday evening |
| Port Talbot - Ysgol Bae Baglan, Seaway Parade, Port Talbot, SA12 7BL | Wednesday evening |
| Bridgend - Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen, Heol yr Ysgol, Tondu, Bridgend, CF32 9EG | Wednesday evening |
| Merthyr - Merthyr Tydfil College, Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 1AR | Thursday evening |
| Pontypridd - Pontypridd Museum, Bridge Street, Pontypridd, CF37 4PE | Thursday evening |
If you are interested in finding out more about the Police Youth Volunteer scheme, please email [email protected]
South Wales Police’s PYV Scheme adheres to the National VPC’s Safe to Operate Standards. These are a set of youth work standards that are designed to keep young people safe. They can be found here
Information for parents and guardiansSafeguarding statement from the Volunteer Police Cadets (VPC)Providing a safe and secure environment where young people can meet with others, learn about policing and policing issues, contribute to community initiatives and have fun is at the heart of the experience provided through the volunteer police cadets. The public expect and deserve to have trust and confidence in their police and this is even more so when this comes to protecting children and young people in our care when participating in activities organised by the police service. Whilst being a national movement, individual police cadet units are operated by local forces and each of these own and manage their own risk in relation to the safety of their cadets and leaders. The police officers, police staff and adult volunteers who support cadet units are expected to uphold the highest standards in child safeguarding, protection and supervision. And as part of this, all adult volunteers are checked and vetted by their local forces prior to being able to participate and support cadet unit activities. In collaboration with police forces in England and Wales, and with the involvement of national youth groups like the Scouts and Girl Guides, we have created a national safeguarding framework that has been agreed by National Police Chiefs' Council and which all Chief Constables have signed up to adopting. This offers a streamlined and consistent approach to the reporting and managing of safeguarding concerns, the recruitment of leaders, training, organising activities and beyond. This will ensure that everyone involved in VPC knows what is expected of them at a local and national level and that confidential reporting and investigation is done in a consistent manner. We also have a National Safeguarding Manager who is responsible for maintaining contact with police forces about this critical responsibility and about the standards and codes of conduct expected at a national level so that we can continue to work towards providing the safest and highest level of standards of youth safeguarding available nationally. If you or anyone you know have any concerns about the safety of anyone involved in the Volunteer Police Cadets, please contact your local force, or alternatively you can contact our National Safeguarding Manager for advice. Email [email protected] Other points of contact are: The NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000 or email [email protected] The Independent Office for Police Conduct 0300 020 0096 or [email protected] The National VPC Safeguarding Policy can be found online at https://vpc.police.uk/about-us/safeguarding-statement/ South Wales Police informationSouth Wales Police’s Designated Responsible officer (DRO) for safeguarding within the PYV scheme is Assistant Chief Constable Trudi Meyrick. The PYV Safeguarding Officer and Strategic Lead is Superintendent Naomi Drew. They can be contacted by emailing: [email protected] |
We encourage parents and guardians to ask questions of any after-school club, tuition or community activity provider and how they keep young people safe. There is more information available from Wales Safeguarding Procedures.
You can find the South Wales Police-endorsed National Volunteer Police Cadets' Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy here.
You can find out how we keep your data safe here.
We want to be the best at understanding and responding to our communities’ needs. To do this we need the very best candidates from a wide range of backgrounds to apply to become part of our policing family.
If you would like to speak with someone about forthcoming recruitment campaigns, opportunities and support available to you, please contact our Positive Action team at [email protected].