Volt patrols

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.023916

I note you seek access to the following information:

I was wondering if i could gain some information on a couple things, those will be listed below.

1) What are volt patrol's? This was mentioned on a MPS twitter page with no explanation on what it is.
1.1) Who can authorise a volt patrol?

2) What is a flash sweep? This was mentioned on a MPS twitter page with no explanation on what it is.
2.1) Who can authorise this?

3) What is a proactive syndicate? This was mentioned on a VCTF Chief Inspectors page with no explanation.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

A VOLT patrol is an intelligence-led, high visibility patrol to a location where there is a high concentration of victims and suspects at set times. The VOLT acronym means Victim, Offender, Location, Time.

A ‘flash sweep’ is a weapons search on public land. This is done by uniformed officers and sometimes with members of the community. The objective is to find weapons hidden by criminals for later use and deny them access to these weapons.

VOLT patrols and weapons sweeps do not require any authorisation.

A proactive syndicate is another name for a proactive team.

Operations are led by senior officers although day-to-day activity is led by Sergeants. However, senior officers will sometimes take control on the ground.