Volunteering in Zagreb
National Call Center for Victims of Crime 116 006
The National Call Center for Victims of Crime was established in 2013 in cooperation with Victim and Witness Support Service Croatia, the UNDP wiki database and the Ministry of Justice. The scope of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime includes:
- informing about the rights of victims and witnesses of crime and misdemeanors
- providing emotional support,
- referral to relevant civil society organizations and institutions
- assistance in completing the cash benefit claim form
The number of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime is available in Croatian and English and is included in the instruction of the rights granted to victims when reporting crimes/misdemeanors. The working hours of National Call Center for Victims of Crime are every working day from 08:00 to 20:00 hours.
Victims’ calls on the line of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime are received by hard-working volunteers. Volunteering takes place in the premises of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime in Zagreb. Volunteer shifts are organized as follows:
Volontiranje se odvija u prostoru Nacionalnog pozivnog centra za žrtve kaznenih djela i prekršaja u Zagrebu. Volonterske smjene su organizirane na sljedeći način:
- 08:00 – 12:00
- 12:00 – 16:00
- 16:00 – 20:00
VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT
The call for new recruitment of volunteers is published twice a year, in February and September. The invitation is published through social networks, associates, the Volunteer Center Zagreb and the MojPosao website.
The application process consists of 4 phases:
- Online application
- Selective interview
- Education
- Call simulation
ONLINE APPLICATION
The first step a candidate must take to join our volunteer team is to fill out the online application form.
SELECTIVE INTERVIEW
All candidates who fill in the application form are invited by e-mail with the dates offered for the selective interview, from which each of the candidates will be able to choose the one that suits him. The interview is conducted by the coordinators of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime with the aim of getting to know the candidates better. The average interview duration is 20 minutes. The aim of the selective interview is to get to know the candidates and assess the motivation to volunteer.
EDUCATION
Candidates who pass the selective interview are invited to basic education. Basic education is divided into two parts, legal and communication. The legal part of the training lasts 2 days. During the legal part of the training, candidates get to know and master the legal framework needed to provide legal information on the line. After the legal part of the training, the candidates are required to come to the premises of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime for the practical part of the training, which includes solving legal exercises and getting acquainted with the database. The communication part of the training also lasts two days. During the training, candidates get to know and learn about communication techniques and rules of conducting conversations on the line. After the communication part of the training, the candidates are obliged to come to the premises of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime for the practical part of the training, which includes solving communication exercises.
CALL SIMULATION
The final part of the application process is a simulation of the call that each candidate has to go through, and it is assessed whether the candidate has adopted the material from the training and managed to apply it in practice. Finally, volunteer contracts are signed with the successful candidates.
CONDITIONS
- Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older and speak English.
- Volunteers are expected to behave in a non-discriminatory manner towards all members of society, responsibility and reliability.
BENEFITS
All volunteers have the opportunity to improve their communication skills and legal knowledge, attend numerous trainings, workshops and seminars, volunteer in a dynamic and empathetic environment and network with other civil society organizations. After ending the volunteering, the volunteers receive a Certificate of Competences and after 200 hours of volunteering, a job recommendation. The design and complexity of the training for volunteers is justified by the fact that only the best educated volunteers can work with a vulnerable group, and for this reason it is necessary to undergo this training. As a rule, the entire process from opening a call for volunteering to call simulation takes an average of 4 months.
CONTINUOUS MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF VOLUNTEER WORK
The organization and coordination of the work of the National Call Center is in the hands of the coordinators who are the employees. The coordinators take care of uninterrupted work and coordinate with the volunteers when filling in the daily shifts and organizing various events. The work of NPC volunteers is monitored from the very beginning until the end of the volunteer engagement in the Call Center. During the work, the coordinators monitor their learning, progress, commitment, way of working and cooperation with other volunteers. Regularly evaluated and sent feedback on the received calls, and through regular solving of exercises, volunteers are directed towards the improvement of communication skills and legal knowledge.
At least once a year, individual interviews are held with volunteers, during which volunteers gain insight into their previous volunteer engagement and comment on potential challenges/wishes/goals they want to achieve in the next 6 months. In addition to individual interviews, monthly meetings of volunteers are held regularly to comment on current events, additional activities, wishes to hold certain specialized trainings atc.
At least once a year, additional training is held for volunteers in order to repeat and determine legal knowledge and share mutual knowledge and experience in previous work.
WORK OF VOLUNTEERS
Since the establishment of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime, over 38,000 volunteer hours have been done and over 230 volunteers have been educated.
Rights of volunteers of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime:
- certificate of acquired skills and competencies
- enrollment in a volunteer booklet
- job recommendation
- participation in round tables, lectures, trainings, workshops…
- possibility of additional engagement (mentoring, participation in additional groups, coordinator)
Obligations of volunteers of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime:
- regular duty on 116 006 line (at least 4 hours per week)
- •attend monthly meetings regularly
- regularly participate in specialized trainings (at least 3 within a year)
- solve exercises regularly
- keeping business and ethical secrets
- assist in promoting volunteering
- assist in actions aimed at sensitizing the public about the position of victims and witnesses in the Republic of Croatia
- respect and enforce house rules
- perform, if necessary, other tasks as instructed by the coordinator of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime and / or the Executive Director of the Victim and Witness Support Service Croatia
- maintaining the secrecy and anonymity of the 116 006 line caller
STATISTICS
Educated volunteers:
Total of volunteer hours:
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
In addition to receiving calls on the 116 006 line, volunteers are allowed to participate in additional activities. Additional activities in which they can participate are the following:
- writing articles for NPC volunteer blogs
- trial monitoring
- writing exercises
- Book club
- participation and organization of public events
- participation in the activities of ongoing projects
- holding workshops at the Youth Center of the City of Zagreb
PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES
Beneficiaries of the National Call Center for Victims of Crime are victims and witnesses of crimes and misdemeanors and members of their families. The target group of the program is a vulnerable group that has suffered harm.
For more information you can contact us by e-mail: npc.volonteri@gmail.com