David Pedrick-Friend has published a profile of Dr Gábor Sellyei, a Hungarian Civil Guard member, in the Volunteer Law Enforcement Officer Alliance magazine. Few volunteer movements in Europe have the deep community roots of the Hungarian Civil Guard. Among its most experienced, longest-serving members is Dr Gábor Sellyei, whose decades of service span local patrols in Budapest’s historic Buda Castle district, international cooperation with British police volunteers, and even

The prototype mapping version of volunteer programmes worldwide has gone live. This is a ‘test’ version of the volunteer programme mapping element of our new Global Observatory of Volunteer Policing. At present, it displays some programmes worldwide as a demonstrator, with many more to be added in the coming months. We look forward to working with partners and agencies to build this international programme database and make it as comprehensive and accurate as possible. This i

Dr Iain Britton worked with academic colleagues from the Czech Republic, Hungary, the USA, and the UK to categorise and analyse volunteer policing models across all European countries. The findings reveal a diverse picture, with many different types of programmes, yet collectively a very rich tradition and history of volunteer policing.

A new study into the experiences of women as volunteer Special Constables in England and Wales has been published by Dr Iain Britton and Dr Ashley Frayling. The study identifies key challenges faced by female Special Constables, which may well underpin the difficulties of recruiting and retaining female volunteer police. The research makes practical proposals for the future.

The Global Foundation and partners hosted the International Symposium in May 2026 at Ludovika National University of Public Service in Budapest, Hungary. It drew the largest-ever audience of countries to an international conference focused on volunteering in policing and across community safety. Over 100 delegates spent two days learning from one another about their programmes and sharing evidence and data across initiatives. The volunteer Civil Guard in Hungary also demonstr

PWC has published a new paper, co-authored by Dr Iain Britton, setting out the strategic case for volunteers in policing. The paper draws...