Following are some photographs that I captured during the “community discussion” on public safety just held at First United Methodist Church in Saline, Michigan.
My wife, Ms Johnston, and I were part of the (slightly larger) “Volunteers in Public Safety” (aka “VIPS”) formation team led by Chief Jerrod Hart last fall.
A few months back (certainly before the leaves turned), the Saline Police Chief overviewed a program with which he’d been involved through his prior association in Novi, Michigan.
Dubbed “Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS),” the initiative is described by the National Crime Prevention Council as follows.
A citizen volunteer in police service is a member of the community who provides support services to a law enforcement agency without monetary benefit. Services typically include community outreach, telephone work, research, and other administrative tasks.
Based on the presentation by Chief Jarrod Hart, my wife and I met with him one-on-one to express interest in stepping-up to lend our support at least insofar as getting thing started. With that, we became part of the first half-dozen residents on his new-launch team.
The first step was fingerprinting and criminal background checks, which we completed on July 8. Structured training led by the designated police force liaison took us through the end of the month. A series of “ride-alongs” came after that, in August.
Preparation alone is a serious commitment, and I’m glad that it was. We officially became a part of Saline VIPS on September 1, and are on the streets (as a team, in a freshly-marked cruiser) once a week routinely, plus special events.
Here are a couple of write-ups we’ve shared with the community through Saline Journal.
Saline Michigan Police Chief Jerrod Hart made an extended presentation on newly-formed “Volunteers in Public Safety” (“VIPS”) initiative to monthly breakfast meeting of Saline Area Chamber of Commerce.
My wife and I accompanied him as representative volunteers with the program.