Volunteers in Police Services

If you live or work in the Atascadero area and want to volunteer your time and efforts to help serve your community in a rewarding way, the Atascadero Police Department needs you. As a member of the Volunteers in Police Service, or VIPS, you will be providing valuable assistance to your Police Department in essential support functions. From providing Neighborhood Watch patrols and vacation house checks, to providing assistance at community special events, traffic direction at accident scenes, maintaining the vehicle fleet, entering data into the computer system, and filing and maintaining records, you will be working “hand in hand” with members of your Police Department. All you need to become a member of the VIPS is a real desire to “volunteer.”

The exciting areas open for community service in the VIPS are as varied as the skills and interests of the individual members. If you have a technical skill or an area of interest, or just a sincere desire to become involved and help in any way you can, the Atascadero Police Department will channel your energy and your volunteer spirit into a position in the VIPS that will be both challenging and rewarding

An individual interested in learning about the VIPS will receive an overview of the program, its goals, requirements, and the opportunities for community service. An applicant for the VIPS must submit a City application and a VIPS application, then undergo a driving history and criminal history check, a brief background check, and finally separate interviews with a panel of Police Department members and the Chief of Police. Applicants accepted into the VIPS receive an orientation to the Police Department and its widely varied functions as well as training provided by other members of the VIPS or members of the Police Department staff.

If you are interested in learning more about the VIPS now is the time to act. Get involved in your community and with your Police Department. Explore the exciting and rewarding challenges of becoming a member of the VIPS.

If you are interested in becoming a VIPS program member, contact Support Services Supervisor Ann Jutras at 805-470-3206 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) or Property and Evidence Technician Ryan Enfantino at 805-470-3246 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

♦ CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE VOLUNTEER APPLICATION ♦

Service Opportunities

The assignments will depend on the specific skills, abilities and interests of the volunteer and the needs of the department. Here are some examples of activities that volunteers may perform:

• Vehicle Maintenance: Volunteer will transport police vehicles on a regular basis for repair, schedule vehicle repairs and maintenance, keeping maintenance logs and preform simple vehicle maintenance.
• Front Desk: Assisting the public at front counter, filing and copying reports, data entry, and assist with various records duties.
• Livescan: Complete livescan and ink fingerprints for the public.
• Vacation House Checks: Registered homes are periodically checked during the homeowner's absence by volunteers. During a vacation security check of a residence, the volunteer patrols the property to ensure the home is secured and the windows and doors are locked and undamaged.
• Traffic: Transport the radar trailer to various locations in Town, assisting in traffic control, enforce handicapped and fire lane parking regulations, mark and assist in abating unattended or abandoned vehicles
• Special Events: Provide support at special events such as Colony Day, Cruise Night, Children's Day in the Park and Winter Wonderland.
• Transportation/Courier Service: Coordinate with other agencies to deliver and retrieve reports and evidence to the District Attorney's Office and Forensic Labs.
• Property and Evidence: Assist the Property and Evidence Specialist with duties associated to the property room, help maintain property records, evidence and property purges and support the Evidence Specialist while processing crime scenes.
• Patrol: Trained to provide another set of eyes and ears to detect, report, and prevent crime by patrolling our streets, perform traffic control during vehicle accidents, conduct patrol checks of requested areas and respond to low-priority calls when able.
• Records: providing assistance for research or special projects, entering data from police reports, maintaining filing systems, scanning police reports into Laserfiche, and general clerical work.
• Investigations: Assist the Investigations Unit with general clerical work, prepare assorted documents, mailings and referrals.

2010 VIPS Hours by Assignment

Volunteers in Police Services volunteered over 8000 hours of their time in 2010 to the Atascadero Police Department and the communtiy. The volunteers are instrumental to our department, and a great asset in helping it run effectively.

Atascaero Police Traffic Volunteers Recognized by RSVP Organization With "Spirit of Volunteerism" Award

Pat Benedict, Russ Tolchard and George Shyavitz are three VIPS who receive specialized training to support the Department’s Traffic Division; the RSVP organization of San Luis Obispo County recognized them recently by for their “Spirit of Volunteerism”.This trio logged over 2,300 hours in service during 2010.One Traffic VIP is on duty for eight hours daily during the business week.Their efforts keep our City streets free of abandoned vehicles.They coordinate storage for those vehicles as well as others needed following collisions or arrests.They respond to major injury or fatal collisions and assist with measurements and evidence collection; they document simple crime report and collisions involving information exchange only.Traffic VIPS also perform regular calibration of PAS devices and setup radar displays in areas with speeding complaints.

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