Volunteers in Police Service
The Richardson Volunteers In Police Service (VIPS) program started in 2002 when 26 people joined the program. Now in 2009 volunteers receive formal training on tasks involving Vacation House Watch, Abandoned Vehicle Notification, Commercial Vehicle Inspections, Fingerprinting, Records, Warrants, and clerical duties. Volunteers also assist the Patrol, Investigations, Crime Prevention, Property, Motorcycles and Equipment Control divisions and sections.
Police Volunteers in Patrol Operations (Field Operations Volunteers) are outfitted with formal uniforms that readily identify them to the public. The police department has allocated three dedicated vehicles to the volunteer program, marking them with “Volunteers in Police Service and VIPS” on the sides of the cars. Field Operations Volunteers utilize the same radios and in-car computers as Police Officers for communications and dispatching while performing their duties.
The formal training and subsequent on-the-job training provides the police volunteers with the skills necessary to do their tasks. The VIPS provided more than 16,000 hours to the city in 2009. Using a national average, this constitutes an approximate $324,000 'value added' for the City of Richardson with an equivalent of 7.69 FTE (full time employees).
For more information about this exciting opportunity, contact Volunteer Coordinator Sue Stevens at 972-744-4842 or Sue.Stevens@cor.gov.