The Redlands Police Department welcomed five new members of its Citizen Volunteer Patrol at a graduation ceremony held in the Redlands City Council Chambers Monday, Feb. 25.
Chief of Police Chris Catren presented the new volunteers their badges and spoke about the importance of the volunteers to the department, noting that RPD Citizen Volunteers donated more than 18,000 hours in 2018. This was the equivalent of nine fulltime employees.
The nine-week CVP Academy provides volunteers training in citation writing, radio procedure, crime scene management, report writing, traffic control, patrol vehicle driving, Emergency Operations Center operations and other areas.
The new CVPs will receive an additional 32 hours of training in the field by experienced CVP Field Training Officers. They will then be ready for the full range of CVP duties.
Citizen Volunteers commit to spending at least four hours a week doing such work as patrolling city parks and open areas, performing traffic control for officers investigating accidents, doing vacation house checks requested by Redlands residents, checking on red-tagged houses designated by City Code Enforcement, and doing evidence-based patrols around the city to deter crime.
The new volunteers are Michelle Hood, Ronn Knox, John Montecino, Mackie Zacarias and Emilio Zacarias.
For more information about becoming a member of the Redlands Police Department’s Citizen Volunteer Patrol, visit www.cityofredlands.org/police/volunteers.