Commit a crime and Manteca may put you to work.
Manteca is the one San Joaquin County community that is taking full advantage of the free labor provided by honor farm work crews at the county jail. They do everything from removing graffiti and retrieving shopping carts to clearing out alleys.
Manteca Police Chief Bricker said his department is taking full advantage of the free labor to tackle blight to avoid creating an environment conducive to crime. Bricker noted other SJ cities use them minimally or not at all.
While the inmate work crews aren’t exactly volunteers, they are part of an army of non-paid help that are effectively stretching Manteca’s policing resources following the layoff of 12 officers due to financial shortfalls 15 months ago.
The department had 89 paid employees between sworn officers and support personnel. There are 251 volunteers augmenting the efforts of the officers.
The volunteers – along with making extensive use of inmate work crews – is part of the Manteca Police Department’s effort to keep service levels as high as possible by freeing up officers from fairly mundane but vital tasks.
“There are (Seniors Helping Area Residents and Police) volunteers who are doing mission-critical work in records and elsewhere,” Bricker said.
Bricker also credited the SHARP school and neighborhood patrols with providing the department with a higher level of presence on the streets.
The small army of volunteers include:
•91 SHARP members.
•17 police reserves.
•98 members of the Citizens’ Emergency Response team.
•17 police chaplains.
•16 Police Explorers.
•12 Volunteers in Police Services.
Bricker noted that if there is a major crime scene or an accident where police need traffic control so they don’t tie up patrol officers even at night, they place one call to a SHARP coordinator who can have SHARP and CERT volunteers on site in minutes.
SHARP volunteers do a wide range of activities including graffiti abatement, abandoned vehicle abatement, yard sale sign abatement, vacation house checks, address verification, shopping cart abatement, parking enforcement, serve as department ambassadors to the community, neighborhood patrol, records data entry, mail delivery, code enforcement, park and bike trail patrol, and street light checks among other efforts.
CERT volunteers are trained to react in the event of a disaster to support government and community rescue efforts. They also assist the department with community outreach, Neighborhood Watch efforts, traffic control for parades, and DUI checkpoints.
Police reserves are retired MPD officers or officers laid off from Manteca and other agencies. They donate a minimum of 16 hours a month to the department. They act as a second officer in patrol units to enhance staffing, assist with sweeps and special operations, and support other department functions. Reserve officers with investigation experience also work with the streets crime unit in drug and gang enforcement.
Twelve of the chaplains work in partnership with Manteca Unified in the elementary schools as mentors, counselors, and role models. The other five chaplains are on call assisting officers with death notifications, family crisis, and youth counseling.
Police Explorers assist the department at community and crime prevention functions such as the Crossroads Street Fair.
The VIPS ranks consist of those with specific services they wish to share with the department. Expertise of current VIPS members runs the gamut from a retired field evidence technician, a gang outreach worker, and a website designer.
Manteca is the one San Joaquin County community that is taking full advantage of the free labor provided by honor farm work crews at the county jail. They do everything from removing graffiti and retrieving shopping carts to clearing out alleys.
Manteca Police Chief Bricker said his department is taking full advantage of the free labor to tackle blight to avoid creating an environment conducive to crime. Bricker noted other SJ cities use them minimally or not at all.
While the inmate work crews aren’t exactly volunteers, they are part of an army of non-paid help that are effectively stretching Manteca’s policing resources following the layoff of 12 officers due to financial shortfalls 15 months ago.
The department had 89 paid employees between sworn officers and support personnel. There are 251 volunteers augmenting the efforts of the officers.
The volunteers – along with making extensive use of inmate work crews – is part of the Manteca Police Department’s effort to keep service levels as high as possible by freeing up officers from fairly mundane but vital tasks.
“There are (Seniors Helping Area Residents and Police) volunteers who are doing mission-critical work in records and elsewhere,” Bricker said.
Bricker also credited the SHARP school and neighborhood patrols with providing the department with a higher level of presence on the streets.
The small army of volunteers include:
•91 SHARP members.
•17 police reserves.
•98 members of the Citizens’ Emergency Response team.
•17 police chaplains.
•16 Police Explorers.
•12 Volunteers in Police Services.
Bricker noted that if there is a major crime scene or an accident where police need traffic control so they don’t tie up patrol officers even at night, they place one call to a SHARP coordinator who can have SHARP and CERT volunteers on site in minutes.
SHARP volunteers do a wide range of activities including graffiti abatement, abandoned vehicle abatement, yard sale sign abatement, vacation house checks, address verification, shopping cart abatement, parking enforcement, serve as department ambassadors to the community, neighborhood patrol, records data entry, mail delivery, code enforcement, park and bike trail patrol, and street light checks among other efforts.
CERT volunteers are trained to react in the event of a disaster to support government and community rescue efforts. They also assist the department with community outreach, Neighborhood Watch efforts, traffic control for parades, and DUI checkpoints.
Police reserves are retired MPD officers or officers laid off from Manteca and other agencies. They donate a minimum of 16 hours a month to the department. They act as a second officer in patrol units to enhance staffing, assist with sweeps and special operations, and support other department functions. Reserve officers with investigation experience also work with the streets crime unit in drug and gang enforcement.
Twelve of the chaplains work in partnership with Manteca Unified in the elementary schools as mentors, counselors, and role models. The other five chaplains are on call assisting officers with death notifications, family crisis, and youth counseling.
Police Explorers assist the department at community and crime prevention functions such as the Crossroads Street Fair.
The VIPS ranks consist of those with specific services they wish to share with the department. Expertise of current VIPS members runs the gamut from a retired field evidence technician, a gang outreach worker, and a website designer.
