About Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.S.)

Mission Statement
Our goal is to promote a long term partnership between citizens and the Burleson Police Department by establishing a program that will give the citizens of Burleson a better quality of life though their volunteer efforts.

What is Citizens on Patrol?

Citizens On Patrol is a generic name used by many to describe a special group of Law Enforcement Volunteers. As the name implies, Citizens On Patrol are Citizens who, after being screened, background checked, and trained by their local law enforcement agency, patrol their communities acting as "Eyes and Ears" for law enforcement. Citizens On Patrol are also referred to as "Citizen Observer Patrols", "Community Action Patrols", "Police Auxiliary Citizens Team", "Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol", "Volunteers In Policing", "Volunteers On Patrol", as well as other names. By patrolling their community, on a regular basis, usually in 4-8 hour shifts, Citizen Patrol Volunteers become more familiar with their community and are better able to recognize "suspicious" activity and notify the authorities. Due to their focused patrol activity, it is not uncommon for C.O.P.’s to observe crimes in progress. C.O.P.’s do not take enforcement action, they only observe and report. Citizen Patrol Volunteers are not authorized to carry weapons and are encouraged to avoid physical contact. C.O.P.’s greatest weapon is their established bond with local law enforcement and their ability to communicate directly with them by radio or cellular phones using special dedicated phone numbers.

What is Burleson Citizens on Patrol?

What do C.O.P.S. members do?

Citizens On Patrol are trained to provide the following services to the citizens of Burleson:

Patrol neighborhoods and Parks
Patrol Businesses
Report Suspicious Persons and Vehicles
Report Traffic Hazards
Perform Traffic Control at Special Events
Complete Vacation Checks and Close Patrols
Educate the Community on Crime Prevention Issues
Report City Ordinance Violations (Junked Vehicles, Curfew Violations, Park Violations, Etc.)
Holiday Parking Lot Patrol

Who can be a C.O.P.S. member?

The prerequisite to becoming a Citizens On Patrol Member is that the applicant must first attend the 36 hour Citizens Police Academy. It is important for COPS members to first have a basic knowledge of the Burleson Police Department and how it operates. The following are the minimum qualifications to become a COPS academy recruit:

Must be 21 years of age or older
Must have graduated the Burleson Citizen’s Police Academy.
Must not have had any felony convictions
Must not have had any class A or B misdemeanor convictions or DWI related arrests.
Must have a valid driver’s license with no more than 1 moving violation within the past two years.
Must be of good moral standing within the community (at least two references are required).
Must have good vision (correctable to 20/30)

Training

Each COPS academy recruit must attend a 32 hour training course over a 5 week period. 24 hours of the training is classroom instruction covering areas such as:

Program Operating Procedures
Penal Code, Traffic Law and City Ordinances
Patrol Techniques and Identifying Suspicious Persons
Traffic Control
Vacation Checks, Business Checks and Traffic Hazards

After the 24 hours of classroom training, the attendees must ride with a police officer for 8 hours of field training learning City Geography, Patrol Techniques, and Locations of Businesses and Parks.

Once the attendees have successfully completed the course, they will become official members of the program and may patrol the city.

BurlesonVolunteers.org

Together we can make a difference...

Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.S.)

Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.)

Reference