Since August 1995, a staff of Senior Volunteers began at the Alpine Sheriff's Station. The "heart" of the organization, the Senior Volunteer Patrol is staffed entirely by volunteer seniors 50 years and older. It is designed especially for senior citizens who want to serve their community through safety and service programs. Volunteers are always in need.

Volunteers are asked to spend a minimum of six hours per week performing a variety of duties either at public service offices or in the field patrolling communities and shopping centers, checking on homebound persons or other assignments.

A Senior Volunteer Patrol applicant must attend a formal training academy. Academy training includes CPR, first aid, public relations, chain of command, rules and regulations, radio procedures, safe driving, map reading, crime prevention, traffic control and patrol observations. Also covered are procedures for doing security checks of homes and businesses, fingerprinting, report writing, parking enforcement, sexual harassment and the YANA (You Are Not Alone) program.

Because SVP members have access to confidential and sensitive information, all SVP applicants are subject to a background screening process. This includes a computer check of driving and criminal history as well as an oral interview.

Duties:

• Make vacation home security checks
• Visit the homebound (You Are Not Alone - YANA)
• Enforce handicapped parking regulations
• Patrol in vehicles clearly marked as part of the SVP program
• Assist Crime with public presentations
• Conduct residential and business security surveys
• Traffic Radar display
• Assist in locating Alzheimers patients
• Mark abandoned vehicles

If interested, contact Mr. Bill Gunter, (619) 659-2609.