rogue
10-16-2003, 06:39 PM
My wife already said she'd kick my ass if I even asked.
Volunteers wanted' for city police beat
Chief Andre Parker is desperate to fill spots, but his plan has raised doubts
BY PAIGE AKIN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Thursday, October 16, 2003
They would carry guns. They would help with shootings and homicides. They would put themselves in harm's way and have all the powers of a regular police officer.
They just wouldn't be paid.
Richmond's police chief announced yesterday that he wants residents to become sworn police officers and volunteer their nights and weekends to help full-time officers patrol the city's streets.
Chief Andre Parker said he has a "very large pool of people who have expressed interest" in becoming volunteer, part-time police officers. Some of them are already involved in the citizen police unit that helps with events in the city. He hopes to start with about 50 trainees.
Parker said he plans to present the proposal to City Council in the coming weeks.
"It's still very much a work in progress," he said.
But after hearing the outline of the plan, Robert Richardson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Richmond, said he had some reservations.
"It takes years for a police officer to become really proficient in their job. There's only so much commitment you can demand out of a volunteer," he said. "If you're going to put them in a badge and a gun and send them to a shooting as a backup for an officer, I have some concerns about that."
Also, with a depleted police force, Parker has acknowledged the difficulty he's had filling more than 60 regular, paid positions. There are 632 officers on the force now, but the city provides funding for 686.
Councilman G. Manoli Loupassi, who had not heard about Parker's idea until yesterday, said he was "skeptical" that the department would be able to attract unpaid volunteers when it has had trouble recruiting full-time officers.
"We've had a hard enough time getting people who will do it for pay," Loupassi said. "He must have a lot of volunteers who are just chomping at the bit."
Parker said he plans to recruit reserve officers just as he would full-time officers.
"Not as many people are interested in being police officers as in times past, so we have to really market ourselves and make an effort to recruit good candidates into our organization," he said. "This is a creative approach."
Chesterfield and Hanover counties have reserve forces, but the crime landscape is quite different in Richmond. Where the reserve officers in the counties are used mostly for patrolling large events and helping with traffic, Richmond's reserves would patrol the streets during peak crime hours and respond to all types of criminal activity.
The Hanover Sheriff's Office's 13 reserve officers work about 32 hours a month, mainly helping with parades and traffic, Maj. Allen Davidson said.
"While they are trained and prepared to respond to any type of emergency, we would primarily send a paid officer first," Davidson said.
Chesterfield's 20 special police officers work an average of 30 hours per month, usually helping at events such as the county fair and in transporting prisoners on weekends.
"We're not there to take the police officer's place. We're really in an assist role," said Perry Hornbarger, captain of the special police unit and a captain with the county fire department. "Our actual patrol time is pretty small, about 10 to 20 percent."
Henrico County does not have a reserve force, choosing instead to use volunteers in its motorist-assistance programs.
If the City Council approves Parker's plan, he said he expects it would cost about $7,000 to train each reserve officer and an additional $2,000 to buy uniforms and equipment - including a gun.
The officers would have to undergo a background search and complete police academy training, just like full-time officers. Once they finish the eight-week course, they would ride with a full-time officer and work a minimum of 10 hours a month, Parker said.
"If the chief sees this as one weapon in an arsenal to use against crime, he's the best one to make those calls," Loupassi said. "I want the police chief thinking outside of the box a little bit."
Yvonne Spain, a resident of the Old South neighborhood in South Richmond, said she is open to Parker's idea.
"We do need more police in the community and we do need the community to get more involved, so this could be a start," she said. "The police can't do everything themselves."
The Virginia Beach Police Department has a program similar to the one Parker hopes to implement, in that its auxiliary police officers carry guns and patrol the streets. The department has eight auxiliary officers, but it has had as many as 85 at one time, Master Police Officer Jay Beasley said.
"We've had everyone from high-level government employees to college professors," he said. "We're so happy to have them."
In another step to fight violent crime in Richmond, the police department has received a federal grant of $525,000 that will fund an additional seven officers, which would bring capacity to 693 officers. Parker said he expects to have 693 officers and officers-in-training by the end of the year.
Police union president Richardson, who is an investigator with the state Attorney General's office, said he's concerned about the liability of having volunteer officers responding to potentially deadly situations. In late July, Richmond Police Officer Douglas Wendel was fatally shot while responding to a reported drug deal.
"I would be concerned about liability you may have with those people putting their life on the line as a sworn officer," Richardson said. "What happens if someone was to get killed? Who takes care of their family?"
But Parker said he expects full-time officers will welcome the help from unpaid volunteers.
"I think that once they realize these reserve officers will receive the same rigorous training they receive, any concern will go away fairly quickly," he said.
This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArti cle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031771576243
Let's see right now I can carry a gun, I can stop a crime if I see one. But riding in that gumball machine, handcuffing perps and having a badge would be cooool.
;)
Volunteers wanted' for city police beat
Chief Andre Parker is desperate to fill spots, but his plan has raised doubts
BY PAIGE AKIN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Thursday, October 16, 2003
They would carry guns. They would help with shootings and homicides. They would put themselves in harm's way and have all the powers of a regular police officer.
They just wouldn't be paid.
Richmond's police chief announced yesterday that he wants residents to become sworn police officers and volunteer their nights and weekends to help full-time officers patrol the city's streets.
Chief Andre Parker said he has a "very large pool of people who have expressed interest" in becoming volunteer, part-time police officers. Some of them are already involved in the citizen police unit that helps with events in the city. He hopes to start with about 50 trainees.
Parker said he plans to present the proposal to City Council in the coming weeks.
"It's still very much a work in progress," he said.
But after hearing the outline of the plan, Robert Richardson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Richmond, said he had some reservations.
"It takes years for a police officer to become really proficient in their job. There's only so much commitment you can demand out of a volunteer," he said. "If you're going to put them in a badge and a gun and send them to a shooting as a backup for an officer, I have some concerns about that."
Also, with a depleted police force, Parker has acknowledged the difficulty he's had filling more than 60 regular, paid positions. There are 632 officers on the force now, but the city provides funding for 686.
Councilman G. Manoli Loupassi, who had not heard about Parker's idea until yesterday, said he was "skeptical" that the department would be able to attract unpaid volunteers when it has had trouble recruiting full-time officers.
"We've had a hard enough time getting people who will do it for pay," Loupassi said. "He must have a lot of volunteers who are just chomping at the bit."
Parker said he plans to recruit reserve officers just as he would full-time officers.
"Not as many people are interested in being police officers as in times past, so we have to really market ourselves and make an effort to recruit good candidates into our organization," he said. "This is a creative approach."
Chesterfield and Hanover counties have reserve forces, but the crime landscape is quite different in Richmond. Where the reserve officers in the counties are used mostly for patrolling large events and helping with traffic, Richmond's reserves would patrol the streets during peak crime hours and respond to all types of criminal activity.
The Hanover Sheriff's Office's 13 reserve officers work about 32 hours a month, mainly helping with parades and traffic, Maj. Allen Davidson said.
"While they are trained and prepared to respond to any type of emergency, we would primarily send a paid officer first," Davidson said.
Chesterfield's 20 special police officers work an average of 30 hours per month, usually helping at events such as the county fair and in transporting prisoners on weekends.
"We're not there to take the police officer's place. We're really in an assist role," said Perry Hornbarger, captain of the special police unit and a captain with the county fire department. "Our actual patrol time is pretty small, about 10 to 20 percent."
Henrico County does not have a reserve force, choosing instead to use volunteers in its motorist-assistance programs.
If the City Council approves Parker's plan, he said he expects it would cost about $7,000 to train each reserve officer and an additional $2,000 to buy uniforms and equipment - including a gun.
The officers would have to undergo a background search and complete police academy training, just like full-time officers. Once they finish the eight-week course, they would ride with a full-time officer and work a minimum of 10 hours a month, Parker said.
"If the chief sees this as one weapon in an arsenal to use against crime, he's the best one to make those calls," Loupassi said. "I want the police chief thinking outside of the box a little bit."
Yvonne Spain, a resident of the Old South neighborhood in South Richmond, said she is open to Parker's idea.
"We do need more police in the community and we do need the community to get more involved, so this could be a start," she said. "The police can't do everything themselves."
The Virginia Beach Police Department has a program similar to the one Parker hopes to implement, in that its auxiliary police officers carry guns and patrol the streets. The department has eight auxiliary officers, but it has had as many as 85 at one time, Master Police Officer Jay Beasley said.
"We've had everyone from high-level government employees to college professors," he said. "We're so happy to have them."
In another step to fight violent crime in Richmond, the police department has received a federal grant of $525,000 that will fund an additional seven officers, which would bring capacity to 693 officers. Parker said he expects to have 693 officers and officers-in-training by the end of the year.
Police union president Richardson, who is an investigator with the state Attorney General's office, said he's concerned about the liability of having volunteer officers responding to potentially deadly situations. In late July, Richmond Police Officer Douglas Wendel was fatally shot while responding to a reported drug deal.
"I would be concerned about liability you may have with those people putting their life on the line as a sworn officer," Richardson said. "What happens if someone was to get killed? Who takes care of their family?"
But Parker said he expects full-time officers will welcome the help from unpaid volunteers.
"I think that once they realize these reserve officers will receive the same rigorous training they receive, any concern will go away fairly quickly," he said.
This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArti cle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031771576243
Let's see right now I can carry a gun, I can stop a crime if I see one. But riding in that gumball machine, handcuffing perps and having a badge would be cooool.
;)