One night last fall, 911 dispatchers in Longmont got a call reporting a domestic violence assault. By the time police arrived, the perpetrator had fled, but the victim was able to provide a description of his car. Trained volunteers soon spotted the car in the vicinity, and police officers made an arrest.
Police and sheriffs have traditionally used volunteers to help conduct routine administrative duties. But now two Colorado law enforcement agencies are doing more — much more. In the Longmont Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department, volunteers are working side-by-side in the field with sworn officers.
In both Longmont’s Citizen Volunteer Patrol Program and Douglas County’s Community Safety Volunteer Program, citizens go through hours of basic training that includes observation skills, police ethics and standards, constitutional law, defensive driving, police radio procedures and traffic control.
Following training and a background check, the volunteers are provided with special uniforms, police radios and vehicles. In Longmont, three small cars are marked like police cars for the volunteers. In Douglas County, volunteers patrol in four cruisers with light bars that look like police cars.
What the volunteers do not receive is a gun. If they see a crime in progress, they are directed to stay out of harm’s way and call for an officer. Walt Wohlgemuth, volunteer coordinator for Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, said, “We don’t want volunteers to be at risk.”
Among the tasks volunteers perform are patrolling schools, neighborhoods and businesses. They may assist at DUI checkpoints, take reports of incidents like “tagging,” and serve as “ambassadors” to law enforcement by listening to and relaying community concerns. When there is a traffic accident, they may direct traffic so an officer can complete a report more quickly.
Sgt. Paul Campbell, manager of the Longmont program, said the result is that sworn officers can be back on the street more quickly. The work of the volunteers also helps keep the cost of police overtime down.
At first, some Longmont officers were skeptical, but over time, they “have seen volunteers work and know they can trust them,” Campbell said. Wohlgemuth noted that volunteers have earned the confidence of patrol deputies, who are calling on them for support “with steadily increasing frequency.”
Douglas County boasts 39 volunteers (including 11 in Lone Tree and six in Castle Rock), with another 35 in training. Longmont has 31 active volunteers, with 10 more in training.
Campbell estimates that from 2004 when the program started to the end of January, the volunteers have donated 12,000 hours, a salary savings of approximately $270,600. Douglas County volunteers have contributed over 36,500 hours since the program’s inception in April 2006. Wohlgemuth and Campbell say the volunteers also help prevent crime just by being on patrol.
As Campbell put it, “We’re constantly looking for new ways to use the volunteers. The possibilities are endless.”
Susan Thornton (smthornton @aol.com) served 16 years on the Littleton City Council, including eight years as mayor.
