Citizens on Patrol

COEUR d'ALENE - Three days a week, Rob Clifford drives the streets of Coeur d'Alene. From behind the wheel of a Ford sedan marked as a police support vehicle, he watches the city wake up.

It's a routine Clifford, coordinator of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department's "Citizens on Patrol," or COPs, volunteer program, has followed for nearly a decade. Since 2004, Clifford, 67, has spent his mornings doing everything from checking on abandoned vehicles to processing photos he and other volunteers have taken while issuing parking citations, photos that can be used in the event those citations are challenged in court. The former mechanical engineer said he needed the routine after retirement.

"When you retire you can't just stop, you got to do something," Clifford said. "With this, you get to set your own schedule and you get to talk to people every day. It's work that has to get done by somebody."

Clifford began his morning rounds last Friday promptly at 7 a.m. Before leaving the fenced-off parking lot at police headquarters, he made sure to call dispatch on his radio.

"They have to keep track of us just like the patrol officers," Clifford said. "They get a little concerned if we don't check in with them."

Pulling out of the parking lot, Clifford said the first stop of the day was to check in on a "strange case" involving a motor home that keeps parking in front of different houses in the same neighborhood. The owner of the vehicle has already been given two warnings, bright orange stickers left on the motor home alerting the owner that if it's not moved within 48 hours, it will be towed.

Clifford will often attempt to give abandoned vehicle owners a third warning. Although he's not required to, he'll try to track down a phone number for the owner and call the person.

"It's a lot harder to do that now, since there isn't a cell phone directory or anything," Clifford said.

The marked sedan maneuvered through the neighborhood, and once he was sure the motor home was no longer in the area, Clifford relaxed. The vehicle won't need to be towed - something the volunteer said he never enjoys doing.

"I think we got rid of the guy, how about that?" Clifford said. "Then again, I kind of thought we would."

Clifford then drove the sedan to the next abandoned vehicle on the other side of town. The radio traffic was almost nonexistent as he drove through Coeur d'Alene. It was a quiet morning, but he knew it wouldn't stay quiet.

"It'll pick up," Clifford said. "It always does."

Each year, Clifford said the police department receives an average of 1,000 reports of abandoned vehicles. Every report requires hours of work over the course of several days.

"It's pretty time consuming, which is why we took it over from the patrol officers," Clifford said.

The police department's volunteer program has, according to Sgt. Christie Wood, accomplished several things since its inception in 2004. It frees up paid patrol officers' time by relieving them of taking calls for abandoned vehicles and traffic control.

"When we first started the program, we didn't know what to expect," Wood said. "Now there isn't anybody in the department that feels like they could live without our volunteers. Because they focus on what they focus on, it frees up police for emergency calls."

It has also saved the city more than $1 million.

"In order to calculate the dollars saved to the city, we follow the federal guideline of $22.14 per hour," Wood said.

By using that standard of pay, coupled with more than 44,000 volunteer hours, the savings is clear.

According to information provided by Wood, the volunteer program exists to "enhance the relationship between the citizens of Coeur d'Alene and the Coeur d'Alene Police Department."

Each volunteer receives 40 hours of training. At the end of that training, they are able to effectively assist the department in a variety of ways.

"Even the mundane stuff, like running to the courtroom with paperwork every day, is an incredible service they provide," Wood said. "It's a person we don't have to extend our resources for."

The 16 volunteers have various responsibilities ranging from patrolling Coeur d'Alene, like Clifford, to performing data entry and assisting detectives with tasks such as picking up surveillance videos for cases.

Volunteers are often retired, Wood said, adding that the ones who have retired from law enforcement are also able to help with providing their expertise to cold cases.

"The retired volunteers are wonderful resources," Wood said. "That generation has such a pride in their work ethic. Rather than spending all their time during retirement playing golf and vacationing, they are giving back to their communities."

"And nobody is too old to do it," Wood added. "In fact, our last coordinator retired from his volunteer post at 91."

After checking on several other abandoned vehicles and running paperwork to the courthouse, Clifford finished his four-hour shift at his desk in the police building. He filled out paperwork and, with a smile on his face, returned a phone call to a senior citizen who received a ticket for parking her car in a handicapped spot.

"That happens quite a bit," Clifford said. "They have a permit but just forget to hang it up. They get so scared when they get a parking ticket. This lady was about 80 and you could hear it in her voice. But she was relieved when I told her to rip up the ticket."

Wood said the department is always looking for volunteers. The more that sign up for the program, the further the program can go in helping the Coeur d'Alene Police Department do its job more effectively.

"Come for a ride-along with us," Clifford said, encouraging more people to volunteer. "See if it's something you might like."

For more information, contact Clifford by calling the main line of the police department at (208) 769-2320.