英国警方免费招募志愿者保养警车

英国斯塔福德郡警方近期发布一则广告，在当地招募志愿者免费为他们清洗并保养警车，称此举每年能帮助警方节约5500小时的时间，同时还能减少警局的支出。

A police force in Britain has advertised for members of the public to wash and valet（清洗汽车） its patrol cars for free in an attempt to cut costs.

Staffordshire Police is hoping to save 5,500 police hours a year by getting volunteers from the community to regularly clean its fleet of vehicles.

The idea is the latest cost-cutting idea from cash-strapped forces, which are also seeking people to work for free completing tasks such as gardening and translating.

However, it has raised concern among police officers and staff, who fear volunteers could pose a security risk.

Staffordshire Police launched its appeal for volunteers to clean cars, act as interpreters and hand out crime-fighting leaflets（传单） two weeks ago.

A spokesman said it had received a "number" of applications but could not say if any of the jobs had been filled.

The job advert¹ posted by the force seeks car washing volunteers who would also be required to check equipment in cars and replace faulty items such as traffic cones²（交通锥标） and flashing lights.

The force also wants unpaid³ interpreters to work alongside officers on patrol and helpers for crime prevention campaigns.

Ben Priestley, of Unison⁴, which represents police staff, told the Daily Mail: "The public will be very concerned that this vital work is being done by untrained volunteers who will not be subject to the same high standards of professionally employed police staff."

PC Andy Adams, of Staffordshire Police Federation⁵, said: "With this sort of thing they may look at other roles in the organisation⁶ where they can push it a little bit further.

"I would like to think that all these people are properly vetted⁷ and accredited⁸ but that will of course cost money."

All volunteers must be at least 16 and are to be vetted and given an induction⁹（感应，归纳法） course before they can start work, the force said.

Assistant Chief Constable¹⁰ Julian Blazeby said he thought local people would be "keen to get involved" in helping¹¹ their local force.