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May 2012
The VIPS Program Turns 10!
This May marks the official tenth anniversary of the Volunteers in Police Service program, and our celebration of a decade of service continues. Take a look at some celebration highlights:
- At the beginning of the year, we set a goal to register 200 new VIPS programs during 2012, and we are well on our way. To date, 67 new programs have registered with the VIPS Directory this year! We thank you all for your help in spreading the word about VIPS and hope that you will continue to encourage other agencies to join our network.
- The VIPS - Celebrating a Decade of Service feature on the homepage of the website continues to highlight fun facts from VIPS history. Facts are updated monthly, so be sure to check back regularly.
- Many of our partner agencies have helped us share the news about our milestone year through their newsletters and blogs. These partners include IACP’s Discover Policing, USAonWatch, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, and the National Crime Prevention Council. We thank all of our partners for their continued support.
For more anniversary highlights and a preview of what is to come from VIPS, click here to listen to the latest audio podcast, Volunteers in Police Service: Ten Years and Counting.
New Issue of VIPS in Focus - Looking Beyond the Patrol Car: Alternative Ways to Bring Eyes and Ears to the Community
Citizen patrol allows volunteers to help prevent crime, increase law enforcement visibility, provide additional services, and build relationships with community members. In light of tightening budgets and community relations opportunities, many law enforcement agencies are expanding citizen patrols beyond traditional car-based programs. This issue of VIPS in Focus highlights three agencies that are utilizing a variety of transportation modes and unique types of citizen patrol. Click here to read the new publication.
New Publication - Building Communities of Trust: A Guidance for Community Leaders
In partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Department of Homeland Security, the IACP and VIPS Program are pleased to announce the release of a new publication to help strengthen community involvement in the suspicious activity reporting process. Building Communities of Trust: A Guidance for Community Leaders was developed to help law enforcement empower local partners to help keep communities safe from threats of crime and terrorism. For more information and to download the publication, click here. To request a hard copy, contact Jennifer Styles at 1-800-THE-IACP, ext. 804 or styles@theiacp.org.
FEMA Calls for 2012 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards Submissions
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is now accepting applications for the 2012 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards. These awards recognize outstanding individuals, organizations, Citizen Corps Councils, and programs working to make our communities safer, stronger and better prepared for any disaster or emergency event. The award categories are Outstanding State Citizen Corps Council Initiative, Outstanding Local Citizen Corps Council Initiative, Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team Initiative, Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness, Preparing the Whole Community, Promising Partnerships, Awareness to Action, Innovative Use of Technology, Volunteer Integration, and Community Preparedness Heroes. Submissions will be accepted April 11 through July 31, 2012 at citizencorps@fema.gov. Click here for more information.
Updated Volunteer Hour Value Calculator
Need to quickly tally the value of your volunteer hours by the state and national hourly values? The Volunteer Hours Calculator on the VIPS website is now updated to reflect the recently released 2011 national and 2010 state values. Click here to see how your volunteer hours add up.
VIPS Question of the Month
Each month, a new Question of the Month is posted to the VIPS Web site. The April Question of the Month “How does your agency plan to celebrate National Volunteer Week?” received 46 responses:
- 28 percent of respondents replied, awards banquet.
- 9 percent of respondents replied, city council presentation.
- 9 percent of respondents replied, media advisory/press release.
- 9 percent of respondents replied, recruitment drive.
- 2 percent of respondents replied, highlight volunteers within the agency via newsletter.
- 22 percent of respondents replied, other.
- 22 percent of respondents replied, we recognize volunteers at another time of the year.
To answer this month’s question, “how long has your program been active?”, visit the VIPS homepage.
Newly Registered VIPS Programs
Our anniversary goal of registering 200 new programs during 2012 continues to progress, with the following 16 programs registered in April:
- Beaumont, California, Police Department
- Carlton, Oregon, Police Department
- Cass County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office
- City of Columbus, Wisconsin, Police Department
- Deptford Township, New Jersey, Volunteer Fire-Police Unit
- Lawrence County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office
- Lexington, Kentucky, Division of Police
- Milford, Ohio, Division of Police
- Pacifica, California, Police Department
- Powder River County, Montana, Sheriff’s Reserve Program
- Rutherford County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office Senior Citizens Awareness Network
- Sandwich, New Hampshire, Police Department
- Sunset, Utah, Police Department
- Transit Crime Watch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina, Police Department
- York Regional Police Department, Ontario, Canada
VIPS in the News
Many exciting things are happening in local VIPS programs around the country. Click here to take a look at the latest VIPS news stories.