From securing the area near the town house where the San Bernardino shooters lived on Dec. 2 to assisting with the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival each year, members of the all-volunteer organization can be called upon to help.
“Our mission is to assist the Redlands police in all manners of public safety,” said Gary McCormick, an eight-year volunteer with the patrol. “Our core service, as it is with the Police Department, is patrol. We assist at all public events. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergency calls.”
The organization was formed in 1991 when department resources were low, but the needs of the community remained and the team assists with patrols, traffic and parking at events, reporting suspicious activity, perimeter control at crime scenes and community relations.
The Citizen Volunteer Park Rangers program was formed in 2008 to patrol the parks and report graffiti and suspicious activity.
“There’s only one organization of volunteers in this city that has authority delegated to it and assumes responsibility for public safety — and that’s the Citizen Volunteer Patrol and Park Rangers,” McCormick said.
Now at 90 volunteers, the organization has more volunteers than there are sworn police officers, which is very unique, Redlands police Cmdr. Chris Catren said.
“They’re doing this for free. Their level of dedication is just unbelievable,” Catren said.
That reason would be safety.
Volunteers are not asked to chase suspects or take on dangerous duties of sworn police officers.
“They do virtually everything else,” Catren said. “They’re involved in just about everything we do, every aspect.”
Members of the Citizen Volunteer Patrol and Citizen Volunteer Park Rangers assist during Market Night, Redlands Bicycle Classic, Run Through Redlands, Christmas Parade and Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival, to name a few.
“Without the volunteers a lot of the things just wouldn’t be possible or the cost would be so expensive people would have to make that determination of whether they wanted to do it or not,” Catren said.
Volunteers conduct vacation checks for out-of-town residents, leave courtesy notices on vehicles with expired tags and deploy speed trailers.
They also maintain the perimeter at crime scenes and traffic collisions.
Redlands police Sgt. Ken Wright was assigned to the traffic and special events unit two years ago, which includes the Citizen Volunteer Patrol.
“In my career of 26 years, I had never supervised volunteers and this large of a group,” Wright said. “I had to look at how do you serve the needs of these folks when they’re serving the needs of us?”
Wright said the volunteers run the internal portion of the program. A steering committee of volunteers serves as their governing board, making them a self-sustaining group.
“They’ve done very well doing that. We don’t have to actually run that portion of the program,” Wright said.
Volunteers also do their own fundraising through the 365 Club, which helps pay for additional equipment and materials.
Volunteers also go through training. They attend an eight-week academy and 32 hours of field training. They also have additional training every month.
Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds participate in the program.
“All walks of life and all kinds of occupations and vocations,” said Michael Kress, a member of the Citizen Volunteer Park Rangers. “It’s interesting because you get to meet all kinds of people.”
Perry Wahe, a police sketch artist, began volunteering after he retired. He has volunteered his skills for other departments and organizations as well.
“Most of us have been former military and other agencies where we’re used to serving,” he said. “We generally gravitate back to that and it’s very rewarding to know that we’re doing something worthwhile.”
The program also has seen interest from younger volunteers.
“We’re finding young people interested in community services are a good fit with us,” McCormick said. “It’s not just those of us that are still working or still operating a business or who are retired that are valuable to this organization. We like to see young people come and join us.”
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©2016 the Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, Calif.)
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