Springfield Police announce community volunteer program
The Springfield Police Department has launched a new volunteer program called Volunteers in Police Services.
Volunteers with the department are responsible for establishing relationships with businesses and members of the community, identifying graffiti abatement, logging areas of concern for officers, handing out resource cards for community members in need, and handing out flyers for upcoming community events.
VIPS will also be able to assist local businesses with the trespass process.
"Really, it's just an extension to be out in the community in ways that we don't always have staffing to do because these folks are interested in volunteering," said Zak Gosa-Lewis, a department spokesperson. "These are folks who support our department and love our community and love Springfield and they want to get out to do what they can to help our community."
Volunteers are not be tasked with making contact with suspicious individuals or those suspected of a crime, and they should not be involved in detaining community members, writing tickets or citations or assisting in similar police actions.
According to Gosa-Lewis, volunteers will serve as an extra set of eyes, ears, and a smile for the department. For now, they will be operating in downtown Springfield with the hope of expanding to other city areas in the future.
"These folks go out and about first starting downtown but hopefully expanding out to other areas in the community," said Zak Gosa-Lewis, spokesperson for Springfield Police Department. "We hope to get out to Thurston, maybe Gateway, just places where people are visiting and coming in-and-out of town, or coming for retail, dining, or whatever it may be."
Volunteers will always "patrol" in groups of two and wear bright yellow jackets labeled "SPD Volunteers" so that they are easily identifiable for members of the community
For anyone interested in applying for the Volunteer in Police Services Program at the Springfield Police Department, information and an application will be available through the department website.
Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Springfield Police Volunteers in Police Services Program Lane County
