Citizens on Patrol Academy
If you are interested in making a difference by helping prevent crime, sign up for the 2008 Burleson Citizens On Patrol Academy.
The 24-hour academy will be on Saturdays . . . Aug. 16, 23, and 30 . . . and will take place between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The academy covers basic first aid/CPR, policies and procedures, patrol functions and disabled parking enforcement.
Those who attend the COPs academy will also ride with a patrol officer for eight hours for the field training segment.
To be eligible for the COPs academy, you must be a graduate of the Burleson Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy (CPA). The next CPA class begins June 12 and runs for 10 weeks. You must be at least 18 years old for CPA and at least 21 years old for COPs.
Those who are interested in the COPs academy must pass a background check; must have attended the Burleson Citizens Police Academy; must not have any Class B or higher arrests or convictions; must have a valid Texas driver’s license with no more than one moving violation in the past two years; must have good vision correctable to 20/30; and must be a model citizen with good moral values.
Citizens stepped up to the plate in November 2006 as part of the Burleson Police Department’s first-ever Citizens On Patrol (COPs) group.
Graduates of the Citizens Police Academy, which is a separate BPD program, yearned for more training and involvement. Sgt. Diron Hill and Burleson Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association members combined efforts to initiate community policing. The program won the approval of not only the police department, but also city management and the Burleson City Council.
COPs is a growing trend in communities where volunteers see the benefits of co-active policing, improved community relations, and citizen involvement.
The COPs program is a partnership between the citizens and the police department. Following a five-week training covering the penal code, traffic code, city ordinances, patrol techniques, traffic control, vacation checks, business checks, and traffic hazards, each new COP candidate rides with a police officer for eight hours to learn the geography of the city, patrol techniques, and locations of businesses and city parks.
The COPs become the eyes and ears of the department. COPs go out in pairs on four to eight-hour shifts and patrol Burleson in their personal vehicles. COPs do not initiate contact with a suspect. The role of a Citizen On Patrol is to observe and report.
What do they do?
COPs are trained to patrol neighborhoods, parks, and businesses; report suspicious people and vehicles; report traffic hazards; perform traffic control at special events such as the July 4th fireworks celebration at the Hidden Creek Sports Complex; complete vacation checks and close patrols; co-host community events such as the public safety fair; host fundraising activities; educate the community about crime prevention issues; report city ordinance violations such as junk vehicles, curfew violations, and park violations; and patrol the major retail parking lots during the holidays.
COPs are also certified for handicapped parking enforcement. The first COPs graduates went through a four-hour class in the spring of 2007. COPs are trained to recognize violations and write citations to put on the windshields. COPs do not confront drivers.
Who is eligible?
Citizen recruits must be at least 21 years old and graduates of the BPD’s Citizens Police Academy (36-hour course). COPs undergo a background check before they are trained by members of the Burleson Police Department. COP candidates can not have any felony convictions, no Class A or Class B misdemeanor arrests, or any DWI-related arrests. Recruits for COPs must have a valid driver’s license with no more than one moving violation within the past two years, must be of good moral standing in the community (at least two references are required), and must have vision that is correctable to 20/30.
Who are Burleson’s COPs?
Members of the first COPs class include Gena Bell, Jeremy Cooley, Tim Ivy, David Martin, Rebecca Martin, Meryl McClure, Vicki McElroy, Kimberly Morris, Robert Morris, C.M. Sanders, Jack Shelton, Patsy Treece, Sheila Wakeman, Willette Walter, and Tina Wood.
The October 2007 Citizens On Patrol graduates pictured above include Dennis Burke, Terri Cooley, Mitchell Duck, Peggy Gibson, Martha Markle, Rhonda Melton, Dana Mitchell, Gay Null, Betty Offutt, Deborah Pruett, Peggy Starks, Cheryl Toomer, and Connie Wheat.
COPs captains include Ivy, McElroy, and Mitchell.
Burleson shoppers had extra protection on the biggest shopping day of the year last week thanks to the Burleson Police Department’s Citizens On Patrol (COP).
Twelve members of COP patrolled retail parking lots from 6 a.m. to noon on Friday, Nov. 23. Four patrol teams were assigned to four major retail centers . . . Wal-Mart and South Towne Crossing on Hwy. 174 and Gateway Station and Burleson Town Center on I-35W. One COP team handled disabled parking enforcement.
The COP patrol teams did foot patrols inside the stores as well as kept an eye on the parking lots. The disabled parking enforcement team wrote four citations for violations.
According to COP coordinator Sgt. Diron Hill, during the six hours that the Citizens on Patrol were in the retail centers, Burleson police officers responded to one shoplifting call at JCPenney and one at Wal-Mart as well as one disturbance at JCPenney.
“We had no reported thefts or burglaries of vehicles in the parking lots,” Hill said. “I am very proud of the Citizens on Patrol and I am thankful for their dedication.”
The COPs are easy to identify. Team members wear light blue uniform shirts with light blue COP jackets and ball caps that are marked “Citizens On Patrol.” They drive their personal vehicles, but the vehicles are marked with magnetic signs that either say “Burleson Citizens On Patrol” or “Burleson Disabled Parking Enforcement.”
This is the second year that the COPs have patrolled major retail parking lots during the holidays. COPs are also trained to recognize handicapped parking violations and write citations to put on the windshields. COPs do not confront drivers.
COPs are the eyes and ears of the police department. COPs go out in pairs for four to eight-hour shifts and patrol the city. COPs do not initiate contact with a suspect. The role of a Citizen On Patrol is to observe and report.
The five-week COP training, which takes place during the summer, covers the penal code, traffic code, city ordinances, patrol techniques, traffic control, vacation checks, business checks, and traffic hazards. Each COP candidate also rides with a police officer for eight hours to learn the geography of the city, patrol techniques, and locations of businesses and city parks.
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