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Citizens to help ease deputies' workload
Tasks for a new program's volunteers will include home checks and traffic control.
By Times Staff Writer
Published October 13, 2007
To make sure deputies have time to fight crimes instead of running errands, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is calling on volunteers in a new program. The new Sheriff's Citizen's Patrol program is training seven or eight volunteers now and is looking for others to help handle tasks that divert deputies' time and attention away from their core law enforcement duties. Once their training is complete in late November, the first crop of program volunteers is expected to take to the streets in December. The Citizen's Patrol volunteers will be unarmed and will not be put in harm's way, sheriff's spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda said. Tim Burke of Palm Harbor is among the first volunteers to be trained in the program. He's had close friends in law enforcement since 1971, when he was a police Explorer at the Clearwater Police Department. The Citizen's Patrol, Burke said, will help both deputies and residents. "It's going to free the deputies up so they can go chase bad guys," said Burke, who works as a paint salesman. "It's going to save the taxpayers money ... because of instead of doing the small things, (deputies) will be able to do the important stuff." Volunteers for the program must be at least 18, have a valid Florida driver's license and pass a background investigation. Once in the program, volunteers will receive 100 hours of training through an in-house academy to prepare them for their duties. They will wear a uniform identifying them as a volunteer, and two specially equipped and marked vehicles will be dedicated to the patrol. The patrol's duties will include: - Helping control traffic at crash scenes. - Issuing parking tickets for disabled/fire zone violations. - Recovering and transporting found property, excluding drugs or weapons. - Helping disabled motorists or assisting at pedestrian crosswalks. - Doing daytime vacation home checks. - Towing speed-measuring trailers to different locations. - Helping with community presentations, registering companies in the Business Watch program or giving tours of sheriff's facilities. Fast facts To volunteer Call the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at (727) 582-6200 and ask for Sgt. Larry Nalven with the crime prevention unit.
[Last modified October 12, 2007, 21:25:34]
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