Deputies depend on civilians at your service

Volunteers with the Citizen Service Unit help free up Sheriff's Office personnel to concentrate on more serious crime.

By MIKE CAMUNAS, Times Correspondent
Published September 24, 2007

New Port Richey Citizen Service Unit officers Evelyn Tracy and Mike De Matteo watch forensics technician Justin Ross as he dusts an abandoned safe that had been broken into.
	[MIKE CAMUNAS | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [DAN MCDUFFIE | Times (2006)] Pasco County Sheriff's Citizen Service Unit volunteer Wally Stroczenko directs traffic in the rain when a traffic light malfunctioned at the intersection of SR 54 and Bruce B. Downs. [MIKE CAMUNAS | Times] Officer Mike De Matteo directs traffic around a vehicle that ran out of gas on U.S. Highway 19 in New Port Richey. The CSU generally assists vehicles that break down in the road or that have been involved in a traffic accident.

NEW PORT RICHEY - Their badges are patches sewn onto their uniforms. They don't have firearms. Or handcuffs. And they can't arrest anyone legally.

They're just civilians.

But this group of 35 people has become an integral part of Pasco County Sheriff's Office. The volunteer force was started by Sheriff Bob White in November 2004 and has become extra hands to overworked deputies throughout the county, freeing them up so they can respond to more urgent cases.

"We're not sending these guys out on an armed robbery case," said Sgt. Troy Fergueson, head of Citizen Service Unit. "But never do we want a community member to feel like their complaint is any less important than any other complaint. That's the whole purpose of a CSU unit."

CSU officers handle minor traffic crashes, tag abandoned vehicles along roads and highways, direct traffic, help at DUI checkpoints or work at crime scenes.

They also handle criminal mischief cases, such as someone taking a baseball bat to a mailbox. White said CSU officers also randomly check parking lots to make sure people without wheelchair tags are not parking in handicapped spots.

"We're here for discretion," said Evelyn Tracy, 65, a former schoolteacher from Indiana who has been with the CSU program since 2005. "We're about educating people about the law, and we just want people to do the right thing."

That right thing may be getting a taxicab to move out of the fire lane, or getting people to exchange insurance information when there's a tiny fender bender.

"I feel like I'm doing something important," said CSU officer Mike De Matteo, 61, a retired Navy Seabee. "It's to volunteer, to do good for the community. That's what we're here for."

* * *

During a recent shift, De Matteo and Tracy responded to a property pickup. It's an abandoned, heavy safe and, by the looks of it, one that's been broken into.

Deputies are already on the scene, and they start an incident report. The plan was to put the safe in the back of CSU's new F-150, which also includes laptops donated by Wal-Mart, but it's too heavy. So they call the wrecker and wait.

That's their job.

"They're a godsend," Deputy Marc Petruccelli said. "They're so helpful in freeing me up so I'm not stuck on something such as waiting for a tow truck for an hour. They do so much for us, that I'd hate to lose them or think where we'd be without them."

Once the safe is secure, De Matteo and Tracy investigate a mailbox that looks like it's taken a beating. It's a decorative one in front of a small Hudson home, but after examination, it appears it was the subject of a hit and run. There's not much CSU can do but tell the owner to call his insurance company.

And they move on, handling calls that allow a deputy to be free to hunt for two carjackers.

* * *

There's the insurance agent. And the former school teacher.

There's also the retired Navy Seabee. And the 83-year-old retiree, plus a couple of retired cops. But there's also the 27-year-old electronics student interested in becoming a deputy.

They're the people who make up CSU. The average age of the volunteers is 64, but Fergueson adds that most have the same reasons for joining.

"The retired population has more time to give back to the community," Fergueson said. "They want something to do with their time that's productive to the community."

There are units on duty nearly seven days a week. Volunteers are required to put in 16 hours a month, but many are giving nearly 40 hours a week.

"There's only so many times you can mow the grass and wash your car," said De Matteo, who has also volunteered to dress up as McGruff the Crime Dog and visit schools. "When you retire, maybe you're just not a homebody, and you have to stay active. They can joke about being a greeter at Wal-Mart, but there's also this that's important."

There is plenty of training. Recruits, who are required to be at least 18 and have a valid driver's license, are required to attend a six-week training program and have a ride-along with a deputy. They are taught policing techniques, including interaction and airwave codes, and the language of filing reports.

Fergueson said there is constant "training and retraining. We won't send someone out as a patrol officer until they're ready to go out."

Tracy, who is a field training officer for new recruits, said sometimes volunteers come in who just can't handle the job. She and De Matteo both admit it can be risky at times.

"Out on the street, you just don't know what will happen," said Tracy, who joined because she read a Times article on the first recruit class in 2004. "There's risk involved, and malicious people don't know that you're just a volunteer."

Added De Matteo: "Let's face it, this carries the same risk as working at a convenience store. You never know what could happen."

CSU volunteers take pride in assisting deputies, and their colleagues show their appreciation.

"That's what we're all about: helping each other out. But we're here to help the deputies - that's what we want to do," Tracy says.

Fergueson says it is more than that.

"They're not here because they getting paid to be here - they're here because they want to be here," Fergueson said. "Sometimes, these folks do a better job connecting with the community than perhaps a deputy might.

"Every CSU call they get is a low-priority call in the grand scheme of calls, but these guys give it a 110 percent just as if it were a robbery or domestic violence call. It's not to say a deputy couldn't connect, but the personal service these calls get is irreplaceable."

Fast facts: By the numbers

Citizen Service Unit

Year established: 2004

Number of officers: 35

Average age: 64

Traffic crashes handled since 2004: 5,543

Abandoned vehicles tagged since 2004: 1,808

Total volunteer hours: 29,500

For information about joining the Citizen Service Unit, contact Fergueson (727) 815-7035 or tfergueson@pascosheriff.org

[Last modified September 24, 2007, 06:53:57]