Columbia Police Volunteers

The Columbia Police Department is lucky to have a group of 39 active volunteers. Several more retired volunteers remain Volunteer Alumni. Police Volunteers have graduated from the department's Citizens Academy, attended special training, or both.

Volunteers provide many hours of service to the department, and they are involved in a number of activities and events. Some of these include:

• compiling information on certain crimes for the officers and investigators
• copying, updating, and maintaining files for the Records Unit
• providing updated information to officers regarding wanted individuals
• reviewing certain reports for suspect vehicle information

Volunteers also assist officers at many events where police presence is necessary. These include:

• The Memorial Day Air Show and Parade
• The Show Me State Games
• The Roots, Blues, 'n BBQ Festival

In addition, volunteers help with sobriety checkpoints, officer in-service training, and many other events and activities.

The program is run by three senior volunteers, who coordinate the volunteer group's activities. They also handle many of the administrative tasks involved with the program. These coordinators also:

• Produce a volunteer newsletter
• Produce an Intelligence Bulletin for police department personnel and neighboring law enforcement agencies
• Assist with the department's Bait Car program

Some specially trained volunteers called CARE volunteers are on-call at all hours of the night and day. These volunteers respond to the police department when children are taken into protective custody. They are able to stay with the children and interact with them, while the officers complete the arrests and paperwork that may come with these situations. The department received donations in order to make this program work, and these children have new books and toys, clean clothes and blankets, and a TV and children's movies available to them, at the department.

The next New Volunteer Training and Orientation will be held on Saturday, April 24, 2010. The application process ends April 15.

Apply Online

For more information about the volunteer program, contact Officer Jill Wieneke by e-mail or at (573) 874-7448.

Chief Ken Burton talks with Columbia Police Volunteers at their quarterly meeting: