Cheah Phaik KinIain BrittonRoss WolfTiny Chiu Yuen TeyAdam DobrinN. Prabha Unnithan2024-10-142024-10-142024-01-01https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paae004https://dspace-cris.utar.edu.my/handle/123456789/1826<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Volunteer corps serve as vital components of law enforcement agencies worldwide, significantly contributing to community safety and well-being. This study probes the experiences of police volunteers from Malaysia and the United States of America serving as sworn officers vested with a defined sphere of legal policing authority. A rich, descriptive qualitative approach underpinned our exploration, with semi-structured interviews conducted with 18 volunteer officers – nine from each country. Three salient themes were generated: rewarding, challenging, and empowering. This study unveils a blend of shared and unique experiences in law enforcement work among volunteer officers across the two countries, shedding light on the transformative personal impact of volunteer policing. Unearthing a seldom explored dimension of volunteer law enforcement, this study offers a novel, comparative insight into the experiences of volunteer police officers. It thereby provides valuable input on an international scale to enhance our understanding of this crucial aspect of community safety.</jats:p>journal-article