UTAR Faculty of
Arts and Social Science academic Assoc Prof Dr Cheah Phaik Kin, who is also
Lance Corporal in the Royal Malaysia Volunteer Police Reserve (PVR) (Sukarelawan
Simpanan Polis DiRaja Malaysia) presented a Plenary Lecture on “Stories
from the Field: The Culture of Police integrity in a Multicultural Society”
at the Volunteer Law Enforcement Officer Alliance (VLEOA) Training
Conference 2022, on 27 October 2022 in Kent, UK. The conference, hosted by
the Kent Police force this year, was attended by members of the VLEOA who
comprised current and retired members of law enforcement agencies all over
the world.
Dr Cheah
delivering the plenary lecture
Photo Credit: Kent Police
Dr Cheah
started researching the PVR in 2014 and co-authored the first published
study on the PVR in 2018. She said what started as an attempt to research
and document the PVR, have now gained international attention and
recognition. “Research about volunteer policing in the world is still few
and far between although the concept and practice of volunteer and community
policing have existed for hundreds of years,” said Dr Cheah.
She explained,
“The VLEOA conference is an exclusive and unique platform that brings
together practitioners who are current or retired full-time and volunteer
police officers to upgrade their knowledge and skills in policing. The
conference discusses the pertinent issues concerning the growth,
sustainability and significance of volunteer police officers.”
“Although
participants in the conference come from different parts of the world, it is
not surprising that volunteers in different agencies share similar concerns
and issues. But one thing is for sure, the common thread that we share is
our involvement, commitment and passion in policing, crime prevention and
community safety,” she added.
She expressed
her gratitude towards UTAR for funding her research project through the
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Research Fund (UTARRF) and her trip expenses
to attend the conference, and Polis
DiRaja Malaysia (PDRM) for their support towards her initiatives. She
said, “I am also grateful to all the PVR leaders and officers who had
participated in the surveys and interviews which my team and I had conducted
over the past few years. Their participation in these projects also means
that they are contributing towards knowledge creation that can inform police
agencies, policymakers, governments and researchers around the world.”
Dr Cheah engaging the participants in
her presentation
Police and
Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Scott, an elected official who envisions,
consults the public, plans and oversees matters concerning the police and
crime in Kent, welcomed the delegates to the conference in his opening
speech. He said, “What a pleasure it was to meet so many wonderful people at
the VLEOA conference, which we were honoured to host in Kent. I’ve long been
an advocate of the service provided by volunteers here in Kent, but it was
illuminating to hear stories of courage and selflessness from around the
world. I know our own force would be poorer without its volunteer pilots,
horse patrols, our road safety community watch volunteers and our cadets
amongst others.”
“I hope you enjoyed your trip to our
shores and take valuable knowledge and experience back to your own forces.
Thank you for coming, I know some of you travelled very far, and I hope it
lives as long in your memory as it will in mine,” he added.
The VLEOA Board of Directors and Board of Advisors posing with
Kent Police and Crime Commissioner
Matthew Scott accompanied by Kent Police cadets.
From left: Cadet Inspector Lewis Gilbert, Captain Marc Spigel,
Cadet Inspector Ferdinand Proyer, Reserve Deputy Assoc Prof Dr Adam Dobrin,
Auxiliary Superintendent Frank Fernandes, Assistant Commandant (Rtd) Carolyn
Parker, Kent Police Special Constabulary Chief Officer Gavin McKinnon,
Kent Police and Crime Commissioner
Matthew Scott, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Rtd) S. Lakshmanan, Reserve
Chief Deputy Prof Dr Ross Wolf, Major Jeff Peeler, Dr Cheah, Special
Inspector Paul Weeks, Assistant Police Chief (Ret) Scott Finical and Deputy
Superintendent of Police (V) Dr Matthew Yap
Photo Credit: Kent Police
VLEOA President
Reserve Chief Deputy Prof Dr Ross Wolf said the conference was the first
held outside of North America, therefore he expressed his gratitude to the
Kent Police and their leadership for working with VLEOA to make it possible.
Prof Wolf said, “Policing continues to face tough challenges, and volunteer
policing can serve as a bridge to connect police with the communities they
serve. Our commitment as volunteers is to maintain high standards of
training and partnerships that enable us to develop positive citizen-police
relationships and develop meaningful and supportive approaches to solving
community problems.”
He added,
“Volunteers throughout the world serve their communities and their policing
agencies in various ways, and this training conference in the United Kingdom
continues the practice of providing cutting-edge and innovative knowledge
and skills training for the participants.”
Other speakers
at the conference include T/Supt Jason Wenlock, Kent Police who spoke on The
Citizens in Policing Family; Dr Iain Britton, Founding Director of Centre
for Volunteer Impact on The Value of Volunteer Police Officers; PS John
McCreag, PC Michelle Rusden and TPS Claire Coleman of Police Scotland on
Transformation/Volunteering Strategy; Supt Warren Franklin, Kent Police on
Diversity and Inclusion in UK Policing; SC Simon Temple, Kent Police on UK
Border Policing; Reserve Deputy Assoc Prof Dr Adam Dobrin, Florida Atlantic
University and St Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, and Reserve Chief Deputy
Prof Dr Ross Wolf on Recruitment, Retention and Re-Training: Supporting
Interest in Police Volunteerism in a Contemporary World; Deputy
Superintendent of Police (V) Dr Matthew Yap, Singapore Police on Singapore’s
National Resilience Policy and Community Policing Initiatives; and Special
Chief Inspector Michael Milner on the British Transport Police.
Conference
participants with their host, the Kent Police
Photo Credit: Kent Police
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