Law enforcementPolice departments relying more on volunteers

Published 15 March 2011

As police departments across the country face shrinking budgets, many have turned to volunteers as a way to continue providing needed services; more and more departments have begun to rely on trained volunteers to complete a variety of tasks like collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and investigating old cases; critics say that volunteers conducting investigations is a legal problem as they are not trained officers and could potentially jeopardize a trial, in addition to lacking accountability; supporters of the programs say that volunteers are screened, undergo thorough training, and are often supervised by officer

As police departments across the country face shrinking budgets, many have turned to volunteers as a way to continue providing needed services. More and more departments have begun to rely on trained volunteers to complete a variety of tasks like collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and investigating old cases.

Local police departments say that by using volunteers to perform these tasks, officers are free to work on more urgent matters like pressing crimes or stopping violent criminals.

The Fresno police department in California has reduced its workforce by more than 300 employees in recent years and has used volunteers as an alternative to cutting back on services.

Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer explains, “We had the option to either stop handling those calls or do it in a different manner.”

In other parts of the country, other police forces have implemented similar programs. In Mesa, Arizona, ten volunteers have been trained to process crime scenes, dust for fingerprints, and check for DNA evidence, while in Pasadena, California another set of volunteers is helping local law enforcement officials combat identity theft.

With volunteers taking on more duties of trained police officers, some observers have grown concerned.

Robert Weisberg, the co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, says that volunteers conducting investigations is a legal problem as they are not trained officers and could potentially jeopardize a trial.

“If I were a defense lawyer, I would certainly say in front of the jury, ‘Mr.’ — and I would underline Mister — ‘Mr. Shoontz, you’re a volunteer. You’re not really a police officer, are you?” Weisberg said.

Supporters of the programs say that volunteers are screened, undergo thorough training, and are often supervised by officers.

George Gascon, San Francisco’s district attorney, does not believe that volunteer officers pose a problem in the courtroom, “so long as there is appropriate training and supervision in place, that should not be an area of concern.”

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Police departments require volunteers to complete hours of training and classes before they are certified to assist in law enforcement efforts.

In Fresno, volunteers must take an eleven week training course and complete forty hours in the field with an active-duty officer before they are given clearanceto perform their duties – which are restricted to non-violent crimes like petty theft, auto theft, and vandalism. In addition, officers cleared the volunteer program with the district attorney to address legal concerns.

“The reality is we’ve not had any challenges yet,” said Chief Dyer.

In addition, most departments are careful to ensure that volunteers are not completing any dangerous tasks or confronting criminals in the act.

Sheriff Terry Maketa of the El Paso County, Colorado police force says that if volunteers sent to check on burglar alarms notice that a crime is under way they are required to immediately alert a sworn officer.

Fresno police officer Kent Pichardo cautions that volunteers should not be too actively engaged on the front lines of catching criminals.

“Do I want [a volunteer] to make an arrest? Not really. But I want [them] to be an outstanding witness.”

Allen Hooper, director of police practices at the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, warns that volunteers are not accountable if they violate the law or break established guidelines like police officers.

He said, “It is unclear how these important safeguards would apply to civilians doing police officers’ jobs.”

In the meantime, police departments are continuing to experiment with these volunteer programs that have allowed them to continue delivering sources with fewer resources, in addition to serving as a recruitment and community outreach tool.