Safeguarding and concerns

The volunteer police cadets offer a safe and friendly environment for young people to develop into good citizens. We are a fully inclusive uniformed youth group welcoming cadets from any social, economic, ethnic group, gender, ability, or disability. We actively encourage young people who may feel disadvantaged through crime or social exclusion to join the VPC.

All activities are risk-assessed and have suitable insurance cover. Weekly sessions are held in police stations which are covered by force policies.

All our leaders are suitably security vetted, and DBS checked to national standards associated with looking after young people. All visitors to units are appropriately vetted and monitored.

Cadets take part in a wide variety of activities relevant to their ability and age for which you will be asked to complete a general consent form and a health information form. Consent is then sought for any further activities outside of weekly sessions to ensure information is up to date.

We are moving towards electronic registration and event planning for cadets through an online platform called DutySheet. All personal details are held under nationally recognised security conditions and are not shared with organisations outside the police service.

Please see the National Volunteer Police Cadet safeguarding policy for more information on how we will look after your young people while they are with us.

Whistleblowing process

If you have any concerns about a cadet or a cadet leader, you can raise them using the contact details outlined below. Anyone can use this process; parents, cadets, cadet leaders, police officers or staff, or members of the public.   

It doesn’t matter how small an issue may seem, or who the leader or cadet is, we would encourage you to get in contact to make us aware of the situation so we can offer the right support. 

It’s important that people feel they can raise concerns, regardless of who they are against, as this helps us maintain a safe environment for cadets. If you see or experience something you are not happy with, please report it.

In an emergency please contact your local police using either 101 or 999.

You can report any concerns you may have about a cadet or a cadet leader by emailing:

• Volunteer Police Cadets National Safeguarding Manager
• Lincolnshire Police Volunteer Team
• Independent Office of Police Conduct
• NSPCC

Alternatively you can phone the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000

For further information, please visit the National Volunteer Police Cadet website.