FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
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Department of Justice - Office of Justice Programs
Linda Mansour - 202-616-3534
Main Office: 202-307-0703
www.ojp.usdoj.gov |
Every State Now Participates in Justice Department’s Volunteers in Police Service Program |
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WASHINGTON, DC – The Justice Department’s Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS)
Program is now active in every state and the District of Columbia, a more than
five fold increase from just over a year ago when Attorney General Ashcroft
launched the program in May 2002. Today, the 585 registered VIPS programs
represent more than 27,000 civilian volunteers who are supporting law
enforcement agencies, allowing police officers to concentrate on their
enforcement and homeland security duties.
VIPS is one of four Citizen
Corps programs that are part of USA Freedom Corps, President Bush’s initiative
to encourage and provide opportunities for all Americans to engage in community
service, and to participate directly in efforts to improve homeland security (www.usafreedomcorps.gov).
“It is encouraging to see so many Americans answering the President’s call to
service and contributing their time and skills to help protect our nation,” said
Attorney General John Ashcroft.
“More and more police departments are
recognizing the value of using volunteers to supplement their efforts, so that
officers can spend more time out on the streets where they’re most needed.”
The goal of the VIPS Program is to enhance the capacity of state and local law
enforcement agencies to use volunteers. The Justice Department administers the
VIPS Program in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of
Police, the world’s oldest and largest association of law enforcement
executives, with more than 19,000 members in 90 countries.
VIPS volunteers
can assist law enforcement agencies in a variety of ways, including answering
phones, taking incident reports, participating in crime prevention programs such
as Neighborhood Watch, sitting on citizen advisory boards and engaging in
citizen patrols, and assisting with special events. They also help direct
traffic, act as interpreters and donate their computer skills.
Freddie
McBride, who volunteers with the Beaverton, Oregon Police Department, is a
senior citizen who assists with clerical work in a detective unit, freeing up
law enforcement officers to better perform their frontline duties. And a
Louisville, Kentucky senior citizen, Ray Probus, volunteers 20 hours each week
with the Jefferson County Police Department’s VIPS program, often driving 130
miles each day to deliver mail and supplies to police precincts throughout the
country. He’s already well on his way to fulfilling the President’s call for all
American citizens to dedicate at least two years of their lives in volunteer
service to their community.
“It’s more important than ever to find
innovative ways to assist law enforcement in protecting our communities,” added
Ashcroft. “VIPS is a creative solution that harnesses a very powerful resource –
citizen volunteers.”
The VIPS Program is the first to bring together law
enforcement volunteer programs from around the country to share resources and
support each other’s activities. Prior to the launch of the national effort,
there were only 76 programs in 27 states and the District of Columbia. The VIPS
Web site (www.policevolunteers.org) serves as a gateway to information both for
law enforcement agencies and for citizens interested in volunteering. It
includes a searchable database of existing programs, a resource guide of
downloadable sample documents and policies, a VIPS info e-mail list, and a “VIPS
to VIPS” moderated discussion group. The Web site has been instrumental in
helping communities establish new VIPS programs and in mobilizing citizen
volunteers. It also provides a wealth of information for law enforcement
agencies looking to enhance or establish a VIPS program. To date, the VIPS Web
site has received more than 5.1 million “hits.”
The Office of Justice
Programs (OJP) provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity
to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist crime victims. OJP
is headed by an Assistant Attorney General and comprises 5 component bureaus and
2 offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime, as well as the
Executive Office for Weed and Seed, and the Office of the Police Corps and Law
Enforcement Education.
Information about OJP programs, publications, and
conferences is available on the OJP Web site,
www.ojp.usdoj.gov.
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