The Contribution of Volunteers to Work with Children in a Criminal Justice Organisation

This article outlines the experience of managing a large pool of volunteers to work with children in a criminal justice charity, and some of the attendant issues. The extent of volunteering contributions is shown to be both significant and worthwhile, and much of The Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders' work with children could not take place without volunteer input. Associated with this is the fact that in order to ensure safe and satisfactory operations, the organisation has to manage its volunteers in an increasingly sophisticated manner, which to all intents and purposes is tantamount to managing a workforce. Yet an organisation that involves volunteers cannot make the same demands of them as can be made of a paid workforce. These are important factors that are well known to our colleagues in the voluntary sector, and which need to be recognised by government when encouraging the involvement of volunteers. There are also important resource implications if volunteering is to be managed properly and responsibly.