Volunteers could ease police duties: Public safety officers would not carry guns

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

DAVENPORT

A plan that would allow for ordinary citizens to act in conjunction with McMinnville Police Department is under review within the department and could be sent to city officials for approval or rejection in the near future.

Mayor Royce Davenport, who initiated the idea last summer, said this week the creation of the city’s first-ever Public Safety Unit could help city officers attend to more demanding aspects of their jobs while citizens perform basic functions such as providing added security at ball games, directing church traffic or providing funeral escorts.

Davenport said citizens would be called public safety officers and would not be able to carry weapons such as guns, night sticks or pepper spray, but said they would carry radios.

“They’ll be trained to deal with conflict and when they realize a certified officer is needed, they can call on the radio and they’ll respond,” he said.

The plan’s “standard operating procedure” was under review by sergeants and lieutenants of the police department last week, City Administrator Herb Llewellyn said, noting officials want to ensure the plan will be acceptable.

“Before we get too excited about it, middle management is going to know about it and be able to say if there are pitfalls,” Llewellyn added.

Davenport said the public safety unit ideally will contain 10 volunteers that will include lieutenants, sergeants, corporals and four patrol officers. The unit will be created through volunteers, who would ideally serve at least four hours per week for a year.

The officers would have uniforms, training and possibly vehicles denoting them as part of the unit. The police department is currently seeking a federal grant from the Office of Criminal Justice Programs that could potentially cover most of those costs.

Officials could apply for up to $100,000 in grant funds and the city would be required to provide a 25 percent match, said Capt. Bryan Denton, who is working on the grant. However, Denton said the amount applied for will depend upon the equipment needed.

Denton added the public safety unit could benefit other departments, such as the fire department. He noted the officers could be used as extra “eyes and ears” for the city’s Barren Fork Greenway project as well, but would be used exclusively in “non-enforcement” situations.

The idea was said to be somewhat closer to formal city review after some suggestions for the standard operating procedure were made and sent to the police department for review and input.