UTAR academic presents plenary lecture on Stories from the Field: The Culture of Police integrity in a Multicultural Society at VLEOA Training Conference, UK

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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