Volunteer with our Witness Service
We’re looking for volunteers who are friendly, supportive and empathetic towards others. You need to have good listening and verbal communication skills. We’re looking for people who are non-judgemental and impartial in supporting all people, and who have the confidence to help vulnerable people and people with specific needs.
Want to join our team?
We have opportunities in England and Wales. You’ll get full training, support, accreditation and a warm welcome.
You can apply if you’re 18 years old or over. You’ll also need to:
intend to volunteer for at least 12 months - if you’re studying we can talk about what happens during the holidays
take our online training
get an enhanced DBS clearance
have a willingness to use IT - email, online training, and potentially tablets and entering information on online forms. You’ll need internet access, as most of our training is online. You’ll also need an email account, as this will be used to register you with our IT systems and our main communication tool. If you don’t have an email account we can help you to set one up.
Frequently asked questions and additional information
Our role profiles below give an overview of our roles, but if you'd like to know more about volunteering our frequently asked questions might be helpful. We have also put together some additional information about volunteering with us - we hope it will help you decide whether you feel our roles are right for you.
You can also have a go at our short quiz to find out which area of volunteering you might be interested in.
About being a Witness Service Volunteer
There are 2 volunteer roles you can choose from:
a court-based role
an outreach role - outside of London only
Our court-based role
You’ll support witnesses (including victims) and their friends and family when they come to court. You’ll give them practical information about the process and emotional support to help them feel more confident when giving evidence.
To support witnesses in court, you’ll be needed about once a week during normal court hours. Normal court hours are 9am to 5pm.
You can read more about what is expected of our court-based volunteers in our role profile.
Our outreach role
Our outreach role is only available outside the London area.
You’ll support vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses and be their supporter before, during and after the trial to help them prepare and cope with their experience of giving evidence. You’ll meet with witnesses by video call, by phone or at a safe place such as a school or community venue where needed. You’ll go with them to visit the court and be there to support them on the day of the trial.
You can read more about what is expected of our outreach volunteers in our role profile.
How to apply
Our application form will ask you some basic questions about yourself and what motivated you to apply for the role. Try to give more than a one-line response. The more information you give us, the more we can get a picture of if this might be the right role for you.
We sometimes get applications we have to reject, as the applicant hasn't given us enough information to know if they would be a good fit for the role. We don't want to miss out on people who could be great volunteers for us.
Your immigration status
You’re only allowed to volunteer if your immigration status permits it. Many will, but please do check you’re entitled to volunteer, to avoid breaching the terms of your status. You can find further information about different visa rules on GOV.UK.
Irish citizens, EU/EEA citizens with settled or pre-settled status, refugees and asylum seekers are fully entitled to volunteer.
Apply to become a Witness Service volunteer.
Your information
The information you give us on the application form is used to help us decide if you’ll be right for the role. It will be seen by our volunteering coordinators and shared at a local level with the appropriate staff members who will lead the recruitment process. We also ask separately for information that will help us monitor the diversity of our applicants. This is anonymous and won’t be seen by the team leaders.
Why volunteer with us?
Bringing out the best in yourself by helping someone through what may be the most difficult day in their life: the reward is greater than any payment.
"Volunteering for the Witness Service came at a time when my life had reached an all-time low. I received amazing support and encouragement from my manager as well as other volunteers, and have made some friends along the way.
I would recommend volunteering within the Witness Service for anyone interested in the Criminal Justice System and looking to familiarise themselves with the court proceedings. This role provides a new challenge each day which can be very rewarding.
If you still have questions about volunteering, you can read our frequently asked questions or contact ws-volunteering@citizensadvice.org.uk.