This is the second of a series introducing the Danville Police Department VIPS (Volunteer In Police Service.)
Last month we accompanied Darren, our hypothetical alter-ego, as he attended the Danville Police Citizens Academy. You may recall that upon graduation Darren applied to the Department to become a VIPS. At the very end of the first chapter, Darren was given a badge, a uniform, and an ID which meant he passed all the required interviews and background checks. I might add he was very pleased and anxious to get going, but there were a few hills left to mount.
Darren’s first direct discussion with the powers that be was the introduction to the Scarecrow Rule. Now he may be in uniform, may sport a shield, may drive a black and white police vehicle, but he is NOT, I repeat NOT a police officer. He may fool a few people and look professional, but it is important to realize his minimal training does not qualify him as an officer. What then is his overriding duty? That’s where the Scarecrow rule comes in.
Now we all know that scarecrows are placed in corn fields. The crows see the image and are convinced that a live person is protecting the field. “Hey, let’s move on to the next field. This one is covered” is the crow’s response. The parallel applies. A black and white is seen cruising around a neighborhood, and “Let’s move on” is the bad guy’s response.
This boils down to a simple truth. Be seen by as many as possible, and be a good witness to what you see.
Now a VIPS is not allowed to travel alone. There must be a twosome for safety reasons. Obviously, they both are required to have radios which connect them to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s dispatch center. When they go on duty, and as they travel about, it is important that they keep the dispatch center informed. This little hill was Darren’s next to conquer. The radios themselves were not tough to learn, but it was surprising how tongue tied a normal person can become when they are faced with telling someone what they are witnessing. It takes a lot of work to overcome one’s stammering and concisely give the position and activity you are observing.
VIPS patrols cover a number of other things as well. A garage with an open door and no cars is an invitation to disaster. Those four expensive off-road bikes next to several sets of golf clubs can earn a thief a thousand dollars in five minutes. When our VIPS come upon this situation a mail reminder is sent to the resident with a request that they be a bit more cautious in the future.
Newspapers collecting on the drive and a UPS box on the front porch announce to a thief that the resident is on vacation. Great time to make a midnight call! A large percentage of police calls are for crimes of opportunity, and Darren is out on patrol looking for these oversights. The program is called “If I Were A Thief” and reminds the residents to be more careful.
It didn’t take Darren long to become a friend with the sworn officers. They are fully occupied with the daily duties of investigation reports, traffic safety, thefts and robberies, and the mountain of paper work that goes with each activity. Darren was surprised to learn that last year the Danville Police Department handled just under 26,000 calls. Not that there were that many crimes, but there were that many needs for police contact. Therefore, from time to time, he is called upon to help with traffic, vehicle maintenance, police station tours, fingerprinting, and possibly some office work.
Darren chose the activities he enjoyed the most and had no difficulty putting in the minimum of sixteen hours per month that are required to remain active.Patrolling the neighborhoods was one of Darren’s favorite duties. It seemed that on each patrol he was able to help make Danville a better place.
On one patrol he saw a young bike rider take a bad spill. His quick call had the fire department’s medics on scene in minutes, and they informed the parents of the accident.
Because there is only a limited number of sworn officers on duty at any one time, and on occasion more than one incident requires the police to respond, Darren was able to assist an officer with traffic control around the accident.
One of the highlights of his first year was in helping locate a missing young child. The incident was initiated by a call from a distraught parent. The youngster failed to return home fromschool at the usual time. This type of occurrence is treated with the highest police priority. Detectives interview teachers, parents, and friends. Patrol officers roam the streets, and bike and motorcycle officers work the trails. On some occasions even the helicopter from the Sheriff’s Office can be activated as well as the Search and Rescue teams. Fortunately in this case the child was quickly found at a friend’s house – just having a post-school snack.
Also during this event Darren was able to watch the Danville Police K9 dog and the K9 officer do their thing. Most of the time one associates the K9 with a crime. For example, he may nose out hidden drugs in a car or find a perpetrator out of sight in a garage. But in this case the dog’s sensitive nose followed the child’s path from school to a friend’s home.
The most prevalent use of the VIPS occurs at the many special events hosted by the Town of Danville. These include the Fourth of July Parade, the car shows, and the periodic street fairs. We see the white shirted volunteers walking the streets, answering the simple questions like, “Where are the toilets?” to the scary ones, “I can’t find my child.”
We could go on and on and on listening to or reading about Darren’s adventures. But like most things in life, it’s necessary to move on. It is my hope that in these two stories about the Danville Police Department VIPS that you have found a better sense of the sometimes overlooked umbrella of security we all enjoy. We may go days, months, even years without contact with the police. But they are there, 24-7, willing to help under any circumstance.
Thank goodness….
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