April 20, 2004
SUBJECT: Use of Volunteers in Public Safety
REPORT IN BRIEF
On December 2, 2003, staff presented to Council a work plan and program goals and objectives for a Volunteers in Public Safety (VIPS) Program. Direction from Council at that time was to come back with a plan that included revised program objectives including anticipated number of hours, feasibility of using volunteers to perform traffic calming studies, bench-marking of other VIPS Programs in neighboring agencies, and placing emphasis on the recruitment of senior citizens.
Staff believes that the VIPS Program that has been refined over the past year has reached a point where it is enhancing the department. We have been successful, with assistance from Volunteer Services, in recruiting people who have a desire to assist us in many areas within Public Safety.
With Councils support and approval we wish to continue the use of volunteers throughout the department and expand the scope to include the traffic-calming component proposed.
BACKGROUND
Public Safety has a strong history with volunteer positions, mainly in administrative assignments and for special events.
The pilot project, approved in 2000, was the first time that DPS had attempted to use volunteers in enforcement activities. The concept approved by Council included some parking enforcement and the marking of abandoned vehicles. In the interest of volunteer safety, and city liability, a relatively conservative approach was used and volunteers were assigned the minimum risk task of marking abandoned vehicles.
In September of 2003, Council determined that the pilot project as approved had not been undertaken, and gave further direction to implement as originally directed with existing resources and to provide quarterly status reports until January 2006.
This report is designed to serve as a status report as well as to address some specific directions given by Council in December 2003 for staff to explore the program objectives, the number of hours the program will provide, the ratio of volunteer hours to staff time and to explore the possibility of expanding the program with a specific focus on traffic calming projects.
EXISTING POLICY
Admin Policy Chap3 art XII Sect. 1-10
Public Safety DGOM 6.10.04-05
Law Enforcement Sub-Element:
Goal 4.1B: Provide community oriented services that are responsive to citizen’s needs in traditionally non-criminal cases.
Goal 4.1C: Increase and maintain public confidence in the ability of the Public Safety Department to provide quality police services.
Policy 4.1D.2: Provide effective and efficient management of Public Safety Resources.
DISCUSSION
The Department of Public Safety VIPS Program continues to enhance the services we provide to the community. These volunteers currently make up a core of ten volunteers, from college interns through senior citizens, that are a great asset and yet manageable with existing staff resources.
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Two volunteers work in support of the Nuisance Vehicle Inspection Unit, marking and tagging vehicles for abatement.
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One in Records
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One supporting Property/Evidence and the Court Liaison
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One in Crime Prevention
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One in Recruitment
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Three in support of Community Safety Services
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One Chaplain
Staff spends approximately 20 hours a month dedicated to the administration and oversight of the VIPS Program, with the volunteers dedicating on average 180 hours per month of their time to the department, a ratio of 9 volunteer hours per staff hour.
Potential for Program Expansion:
The potential to expand the VIPS Program exists if Council chooses to provide the necessary funding. Understanding that a good volunteer program can not expand overnight, staff has identified the following areas where given time and the flexibility to develop the program, volunteers could prove to be beneficial. Areas where staff will explore volunteer deployment are:
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Volunteer Coordinator: This position/s will assist staff in the administration of the volunteer’s efforts within Public Safety.
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Neighborhood Watch Coordinator: Act as the liaison between the department and neighborhood groups to facilitate Public Safety involvement in meetings, presentations and special events.
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Assist with Public Safety Headquarters Tours: Provide building tours and informational presentations to groups wishing to learn more about Public Safety such as school groups and youth organizations.
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Assist with marketing and implementing Security Surveys and the Operation ID program. This program provides the opportunity for residents of Sunnyvale to safeguard their residences and personal property through security evaluations and inscription of an identifying information/numbers on property.
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Bike licensing: Provide the opportunity to register bicycles at Public Safety Headquarters in addition to the remote fire stations.
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Traffic Calming: Volunteers will be trained to use a radar gun in targeted complaint areas to identify vehicles that exceed the speed limit. They then record the license plate and notify the registered owners of the offense with a form letter requesting they comply with the posted speed limit or risk enforcement action if observed by an officer.
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Parking Enforcement: With sufficient training, volunteers can be used to issue parking citations at targeted locations,, including handicapped parking areas and school zones designated for pick up and drop off of students.
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Check Fraud: Taking care of the preliminary paperwork associated with the processing of fraudulent check cases.
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Greeters: Provide assistance to customers upon entering the Public Safety building in an effort to expedite their request for service.
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Vacation home checks: When coordinated through the Crime Prevention Unit, volunteers would check on homes for residents on extended vacation.
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DUI Checkpoints: Volunteers may assist officers with paperwork processing or other low-risk duties at the scene of checkpoints or provide support at headquarters.
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Traffic/crowd control: With sufficient training provide crowd/traffic control at crime scenes or major special events.
In addition to the areas mentioned above, the department would benefit from expanding the areas where volunteers already support our efforts, such as the Chaplaincy program and those who provide administrative support in the various work areas.
Staff would support the opportunity to develop the program over the next two years to add up to 20 additional volunteers, bringing the program total to 30 volunteers. The most crucial volunteer position staff would endeavor to fill would be that of the volunteer “Volunteer Coordinator”. Having this position staffed would allow the city staff to continue to provide minimal administrative oversight while allowing the department to recognize significant volunteer support and benefit. Again, if given the time and resources it would be beneficial to provide volunteer support in areas where department resources are being redirected in an effort to maintain service levels to internal as well as external customers.
Benchmarking:
Ten police agencies from Santa Clara County were surveyed. The sample volunteer programs varied from a small number of city “pool” volunteers occasionally used for special projects to full service programs with budgets including staff time, training and uniforms. Details for each agency are included in the matrix in Attachment A.
Recruitment Efforts:
Volunteer Resources does the recruiting for all VIPS.
Program Goals:
The program goals and objectives have been reevaluated and now are as follows:
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The primary goal of this program is to use the services of volunteers within the Department of Public Safety in low risk enforcement and administrative capacities to supplement existing resources and enhance the services provided to the community.
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The secondary goal is to improve the public’s understanding of the Public Safety mission. Recognizing that volunteer programs can have a very positive effect on public perception of their city governments. Often people who volunteer become advocates for their organizations through a sense of ownership and responsibility.
Program Objectives:
Provided Council wants to maintain the program as is with no staff or fiscal resources budgeted the program objectives will remain as follows:
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Maintain a pool of active VIPS assigned throughout DPS.
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In cooperation with Volunteer Resources, have a viable applicant pool to pull from in order to fill vacancies.
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Monitor the ratio of volunteer hours per staff hour.
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80% of volunteers rate their experience as a volunteer as a positive one.
A quarterly informal survey will be conducted to gather data for the status reports to Council, as well as to be used to gauge the on-going effectiveness of the program. Should any volunteer leave the program, an exit interview with Volunteer Resources’ staff will be conducted in an effort to gain further insight into the program strengths and weaknesses.
If Council chooses to provide direction and the necessary funding to expand the program the goals would be modified to include the following:
FISCAL IMPACT
The project oversight will continue to be in the Crime Prevention Unit. The supervision of this project will be included within staff’s current duties, without a reduction of service levels. Due to the initial investment in the program, ongoing expenses are anticipated to be minimal. It is anticipated staff time will be a maximum of 5 hours per week, a total cost not to exceed $11,928 for FY 03-04 to be absorbed within the current budget provided we are successful in recruiting and maintaining a volunteer “Volunteer Coordinator”. This time may fluctuate depending on vacancy rates within the program. If Council intends to change the scope or focus of the project, funding will be required to support the additional efforts. If the oversight is maintained within Crime Prevention the hourly rate will be at the level of Community Service Officer, $32.90 per hr., subject to contractual increases. In addition there would be a need for a program budget to include costs to cover uniforms, equipment and supplies, and most importantly recognition. An Activity Detail Sheet and proposed budget for a volunteer program of 30 total volunteers is included as Attachment B. The fiscal impact of a successful volunteer program should be minimal in that the inherent success is based on the program being run by the volunteers for the volunteers with minimal staff oversight and administration.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made through posting of the Council agenda on the city's official notice bulletin board, posting of the agenda and report on the city's web page, publication of the Council agenda in the San Jose Mercury News, and the availability of the report in the Library and the City Clerk's Office.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Continue the project within the Crime Prevention unit. Maintain the current core of 10 volunteers and not increase the contribution volunteers make within Public Safety beyond the existing assignments.
2. Expand the program to 30 volunteers over a 2 year period through sufficient funding as identified; identify areas of opportunity; allow adequate time to recruit, train and deploy the volunteers; and validate the contribution.
3. Expand the program incrementally proportionate to the funding provided by Council, identify areas of opportunity; allow adequate time to recruit, train and deploy the volunteers; and validate the contribution, understanding that staff believes that the total number of volunteers should not exceed 30.
4. Abandon the project and release the current VIPS, providing service to the Department of Public Safety and the community.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff supports the expansion of the current volunteer program, and recommends alternative #2, subject to funding, which should be deferred to the budget process for the next two fiscal years.
Prepared by:
Mark Stivers
Captain, Community Safety Services Bureau
Reviewed by:
Michael Maehler
Acting Director, Public Safety
Approved by:
Amy Chan
City Manager
Attachments
A. Santa Clara County Law Enforcement Volunteer Program Matrix
B. Proposed Program Budget and Activity Detail Sheet