The Eugene Police Department’s Volunteers in Policing program was put in the national spotlight Thursday as one of 16 agencies in the country to participate in the creation of a comprehensive resource guide for volunteer programs nationwide.
With the goal of providing support for resource-constrained law enforcement agencies, the national Volunteers in Police Service program is reviewing well-established volunteer programs that have successfully recruited community members.
As a Citizen Corps program, VIPS is managed and implemented by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The program was given a grant by the Justice Department after President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address announced the creation of the USA Freedom Corps, of which Citizen Corps is a part. Project director and IACP member Vince Talucci said police departments, state agencies and sheriff’s agencies from Massachusetts to California are currently being studied.
Out of the 79 volunteers who contributed almost 10,000 hours of service to EPD’s VIP program in 2002, 10 were local students. As one of four student volunteers accounted for in 2003, University junior Peter Kirkpatrick said the time he has put into the program has meant a wealth of field experience.
“It’s a lot better than any classroom,” he said, “and it definitely helps to get your foot in the door.”
Pursuing a career in law enforcement, Kirkpatrick has participated in the Eugene volunteer program since he first heard about it from a few friends at EPD in early January. Though not currently earning credit for the experience, he intends to register the hours he spends working at the West University substation — on the corner of Alder Street and East 13th Avenue — with the sociology department sometime within the next year. In the meantime, Kirkpatrick has participated in ride-alongs with EPD officers and assists in initial police reports filed at the front desk of the substation.
“I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone here and taking on new responsibilities,” he said. “It’s the best preparatory experience I could have found.”
Talucci explained EPD was chosen for the project because it offers a broad array of volunteer opportunities to the community. He said two of his focuses in evaluating the EPD volunteer program are the volunteer pool of seniors and retired community members, as well as local car seat safety checks.
Considering the EPD program was one of 16 selected from a nationwide pool of approximately 300, EPD Volunteer Coordinator Carrie Chouinard said she can’t help but be proud.
“I think it’s impressive,” she said.
As the first volunteer coordinator employed at EPD in 2000, Chouinard said the biggest challenge of her position was reinventing the program. Chouinard said she reviewed sample resources from numerous program packets before settling on the established aspects of the current EPD Volunteers in Policing program. Despite initial difficulties in organizing the program, she said she is happy to see the efforts and ideas be put to good use.
“Now, new programs will be able to use (the VIPS) resource guide instead of searching and searching as I did,” Chouinard said.
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