|
|
|
The Volunteers In Police Service (VIPS) program is one of five Citizen Corps partner programs managed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police on behalf of the White House Office of the USA Freedom Corps, created by former President George W. Bush.
In April 2008, under the leadership of Crime Prevention Sgt. Allen Kintz and veteran officer Paula Pickett, the first VIPS meeting was held in the multi-purpose room at Blue Springs police headquarters. Ten volunteers attended that first meeting, and the number of active VIPS has now grown to 20.
While volunteers are not commissioned officers and bear no firearms, they are trained and work within the department alongside department staff. A thorough background investigation for each VIPS team member is performed by Mike Bergman, a retired federal agent, who has been a volunteer since September 2000 when the Non Commissioned Officers Program was developed.
Volunteers come from many sources. Detective Ray Vasquez, ret., has joined the VIPS group as a valuable member of the leadership team, offering his many years of police experience to help the group continue to grow. Graduates of the BSPD Citizen Academy and others interested in the welfare of the community assist through this program.
In a recent article in the Blue Springs Magazine, Chief Wayne McCoy was quoted as saying, “ Community involvement is a key element in reducing crime in our city.”
It’s a perfect partnership for many reasons, but one of the most important is that it gives citizens an opportunity to give something back. It also gives the department much needed support. Incorporating volunteers into a law enforcement environment allows the department to achieve the best possible public safety product, beyond what can be provided by the department’s budget.
Even before the official start of the VIPS group, volunteers regularly provided service to BSPD. In addition to those who have joined the VIPS program, there are still many others who gave their time, energy, and contributions to special events that require more time than commissioned officers can cover.
An important aspect of volunteer service for the Blue Springs Police Department is the Chaplain program. The Rev. Rick Johnson, minister of the First Bible Baptist Church in Blue Springs, began serving as a Police Chaplain for both the Blue Springs Police Department and the CJC Fire District in 2003.
Rick has spent countless hours riding with officers and handling grief and loss issues for more than 250 families and department personnel during many crises. Rick was named Volunteer of the Year at the annual awards event in December 2008.
The Volunteers In Police Service (VIPS) program is one of five Citizen Corps partner programs managed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police on behalf of the White House Office of the USA Freedom Corps, created by former President George W. Bush.
In April 2008, under the leadership of Crime Prevention Sgt. Allen Kintz and veteran officer Paula Pickett, the first VIPS meeting was held in the multi-purpose room at Blue Springs police headquarters. Ten volunteers attended that first meeting, and the number of active VIPS has now grown to 20.
While volunteers are not commissioned officers and bear no firearms, they are trained and work within the department alongside department staff. A thorough background investigation for each VIPS team member is performed by Mike Bergman, a retired federal agent, who has been a volunteer since September 2000 when the Non Commissioned Officers Program was developed.
Volunteers come from many sources. Detective Ray Vasquez, ret., has joined the VIPS group as a valuable member of the leadership team, offering his many years of police experience to help the group continue to grow. Graduates of the BSPD Citizen Academy and others interested in the welfare of the community assist through this program.
In a recent article in the Blue Springs Magazine, Chief Wayne McCoy was quoted as saying, “ Community involvement is a key element in reducing crime in our city.”
It’s a perfect partnership for many reasons, but one of the most important is that it gives citizens an opportunity to give something back. It also gives the department much needed support. Incorporating volunteers into a law enforcement environment allows the department to achieve the best possible public safety product, beyond what can be provided by the department’s budget.
Even before the official start of the VIPS group, volunteers regularly provided service to BSPD. In addition to those who have joined the VIPS program, there are still many others who gave their time, energy, and contributions to special events that require more time than commissioned officers can cover.
An important aspect of volunteer service for the Blue Springs Police Department is the Chaplain program. The Rev. Rick Johnson, minister of the First Bible Baptist Church in Blue Springs, began serving as a Police Chaplain for both the Blue Springs Police Department and the CJC Fire District in 2003.
Rick has spent countless hours riding with officers and handling grief and loss issues for more than 250 families and department personnel during many crises. Rick was named Volunteer of the Year at the annual awards event in December 2008.
Another minister has been a volunteer since 1994 when he became one of the first Champions For Children Mentors. Reverend Doctor Ed “ Doc” Golden has used his wood working talents and other skills over the years to assist the Community and Youth Outreach Unit. Doc spent 820 hours at the unit in 2008, assuming the duties of developing and maintaining data bases for the Crime Free Property Management program and the Retail Alcohol Servers training classes. Doc received the Citizen Recognition Award for 2007 from the department. Doc awards a $500 scholarship each year to a student who completes the CYOU program, graduates and enrolls in college.
Doc is also part of the crisis response team for Blue Springs School District and assists with Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) in cooperation with BSPD school resource officers.
Rick Lynch has volunteered for over two years and spent many hours in the Detention Service Office (jail holding facility) to help process those arrested for various offenses. In addition to his other volunteer hours, Rick worked with the Animal Control Office for 69.5 hours in 2008.
VIPS personnel like Chris Lauer and Heather Kraft were very visible in many of the special events hosted by the City of Blue Springs and Police Department. Events that they participated in included the David Cook parade, Fall Fun Fest Parade/Festival, Scout Day, Santa Train, and National Night Out Against Crime.
Volunteers donated 174.5 hours during these events. On the last DWI checkpoint in 2008, Sarah Nauser and Jacob Wilcher were among the volunteers who spent a total of 32 hours to assist with checkpoint to remove impaired drivers and provide visible education to the public.
The Blue Springs Police Dispatch Center assists with the task of receiving calls for the TIPS Hotline, and VIPS members assist them with this task. Of those who helped in this effort, four are some of our newest members who graduated from the Blue Springs Citizen’s Police Academy.
They include Tom Echerd, Maureen (Moe) Johnson, Chris Lievsay, and Jim Wallace. Steve Fielder, Mary Lara, John Gilligan, Deb Mendenhall-Flannery, and Jessica Snow also spent hours on the phone to ease the number of calls for a very, very busy dispatch group. Fontella Jamison (another BSPD academy graduate) has found a place in the Property Unit, helping to process the huge amount of evidence and associated records.
Gerald Pattillo, Jeff Johnson and our newest VIPS member, Karen Dudley, complete the roster of this growing and vibrant group.
During regular meetings and training sessions, VIPS have received classroom and field training on topics such as report writing, radio communications, vehicle searches, detention services including finger-printing, computer files for processing inmates and TIPS Hotline response.
Overall VIPS members provided more than 1,400 hours of service in 2008 to help make the work of BSPD a little easier and enhance service to our community. As the program continues to grow and develop, there will be more and more ways to utilize the skills, talents, and experience of VIPS volunteers. Already in 2009, VIPS have logged 112 hours in their efforts to be a part of the crime fighting efforts that partners our citizens with the police department.
If you are interested in joining the Blue Springs Police Department’s VIPS, please contact Sergeant Allen Kintz at the Blue Springs Police Department Community and Youth Outreach Unit, 816-228-0178.
