V-COP vehicles are maintained by volunteers, with one special volunteer handling the more detailed maintenance. He even makes sure the Police Department's pool vehicles and jail van are always in top shape. This Division houses some of the more unique volunteer services. During times of emergency, whether it is a Police SWAT call out, Hostage Negotiation Team call out, extensive crime scene investigation or Fire Department deployment, the Volunteer Emergency Response Team is activated. This is done by color-coded dots on a Mylar overlay on two large city maps.
Different colors reflect different crimes and times of occurrence.
This service allows Officers to keep up with criminal activity in their zone of responsibility on a daily basis. These maps also allow us to look at crime trends. On another set of maps, our volunteer plots offender demographics. The Special Operations Division also sets up and manages special assignments as needed by the East and West District Police Commanders. V-COPs distribute informational flyers to neighborhoods where sex offenders live and pose a threat.