Citizens on Patrol provide vital services

Citizens on Patrol commander Kenneth Robertson would prefer his patrol time to be busy but doesn't mind when things are slow because it means people are behaving themselves.

Other than scaring a few kids out of Carl Miller Park after the park was closed, the night of Saturday Oct. 19 was a slow night on his patrol.

The evening, like every shift, began with an inspection of the car's tires and lights to ensure they were in working order.

Then paperwork must be filled out, the COPs document everything they do during their shift. Robertson started to fill out the required paperwork while partner and COPs secretary Marian Mitchell radioed into dispatch.

Two members are required for every patrol.

After dispatch acknowledged her call, the pair was ready for their four-hour shift. Members of the volunteer group are required to complete two four-hour shifts a month.

For Robertson, this is his second shift in as many days as he has had to work both weekend shifts for the past several months because membership in the group as declined to only eight members.

The first order of business for the night was vacation watch. Residents of Mountain Home can fill out a form requesting additional security on their homes when they are out of town.

On Saturday night Robertson and Mitchell made quick work out of the three requests on file before beginning patrolling.

"It's just like if you were a regular police officer, that's what we do," Robertson explained.

"You learn to be observant, always looking left, right, forward for anything out of the ordinary."

The Citizens on Patrol's objective is to act as an additional set of ears and eyes for the Mountain Home Police Department.

Members do not carry guns and cannot stop anyone. Instead, they radio in their observations to dispatch or follow suspicious drivers from a distance who may be driving while intoxicated.

Robertson and Mitchell both became members in 2002. They said they have been patrolling for so long they've learned the patterns of businesses and can tell which ones close their gates and which ones leave them open at night.

A few minutes later, Robertson demonstrates that ability when he notices an unlocked gate at West Elementary.

Robertson and Mitchell decide to drive around the back of the school to investigate further. "It's always best to be suspicious, just in case," Mitchell warned. "You never know." The pair didn't find anything suspicious behind the school and continued driving around town without a plan or aim. "There's no particular pattern, rhyme or reason," Robertson said, explaining the reason is to avoid setting a pattern.

Robertson, who works managing rental properties at Century 21, got involved with the program because he was always looking for something to do in the community and there weren't a lot of options since he was getting older.

He said he finds the work rewarding and enjoyable.

Mitchell echoed his thoughts.

"It's giving back to the community, the community has given a lot to you," she said.

Each business the pair drives by brings up a story or antidote of previous patrols where one of them or another COP noticed something out the ordinary and reported it, be it an open window, the smell of propane caused by an open value, a door left open, a set of keys left in the doorway, spotting a car the police department was looking for, finding a lost child and more.

Robertson said business owners are appreciative of their efforts.

"People appreciate we're here, the police can't be everywhere at once," he said.

In addition to patrols, the COPs also assist police with traffic control for big events such as Air Force Appreciation Day and the annual homecoming parade, provide escorts to funeral processions, participate in the annual "Shop with a Cop" program and other community events, raise funds and assist other agencies with community functions and parades, including other cities in the state.

At the halfway point of their shift, Robertson and Mitchell report to the police station as the officers are changing shifts. There they are told a street needs additional patrols because of burglaries in the area.

In addition to patrolling the street, the pair drives though the city's parks since by now it is past 10 p.m. and the parks are closed by city ordinance.

At Carl Miller Park, three teenagers spot the car as it approaches and leave their spot on the park's swings before Robertson and Mitchell can make their way to them.

To become a COP, members must have a clean record that would not prohibit employment as a police officer and pass a background investigation. Members must be 18 or older, attend bi-monthly meetings, patrol eight hours a month and participate in community events.

Robertson said he is fortunate his employer allows him to take time off to participate in community events since membership has been down in recent months. He attributes that to a large number of the staff joining the county's COP program when it was created in the mid 1990s and the normal turnover associated with volunteer agencies.

When the agency had more members, they would patrol several times during the week and from 2-4 p.m. around the schools as students were released for the day.

Robertson would like to see membership increase to the point where they are able to resume those patrols again. For now, they are limited to weekend patrols and the occasional week night patrol. He said it would be nice to find retired people who are looking for something interesting to do who want to give back to the community to volunteer during the day.

Once the parks have been cleared, Mitchell, who works at the Base Primary, decides its time to drive though a number of the city alleys. Despite being almost 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, the alleys appear to be quit, even behind the bars, with the exception of a handful of children playing behind a local restaurant.

After patrolling the streets for a little longer, Robertson and Mitchell return to the city shop, where the program's five retired police cars used by COPs are kept. Once there, they end the night how they started it, with a call into dispatch.

COPs receive training in community policing philosophy, CPR/first aid, radio procedures, traffic direction, crime scene control, fingerprinting, patrol procedures and disaster awareness. Most of the training is done by the Mountain Home Police Department.

Robertson said he enjoys being able to do things for the community that wouldn't normally get done without the COP program. He thinks there would be more problems within the community without the COPs. "My feeling is we do deter crime," he said.

Numbers from the state crime report would suggest the COP program does help deter crime in Mountain Home. In 1998, the Mountain Home Police Department reported 1,110 offenses when Mountain Home had a population of approximately 10,000. In 2007, with a population of approximately 14,250, the department reported 1,076 offensives.

The Mountain Home COP program may also help deter crime in other neighborhoods in Idaho.

Sergeant Rick Viola of the Mountain Home Police Department, who helped build the program, said it has become a model program in the state as other departments around Idaho have called the department for advice on setting up programs in their communities and often want to see Mountain Home's bylaws, policies and procedures and invite them to speak to them on how to set up a program.

For more information on how to get involved in COPs call Sgt. Jim Patterson at 587-2101.