Editor’s note: The following is about volunteer opportunities with the Manteca Police SHARP unit and what they do for the community.

Hello Manteca,

Some time, just after the city open up from Covid 19, I started a series called, ‘Inside SHARP’. The purpose was to generate more interest in our group. For one reason or another I never got past the first article.

 I am now ready to resume by reposting the original article with a few corrections. We have a new permanent liaison officer, Mitch Ellis, Captain of the Services Division, and Joshua Gutierrez, the Lieutenant in the Services Division  

My job will be to write a few articles, maybe one a week or every two weeks, hopefully to give some insight into the personnel of the SHARP Unit.

I will try and explain why we give out notices of potential ordinance violations and why we require certain actions to be taken. This involves vehicles, basketball hoops, trash etc. These ordinances are common to most towns and cities in California and are not unique to Manteca.

Their purpose is to create a clean and safe environment. Some residents wish we would leave more notices while others feel they are a nuisance and a waste of time.

My next article I hope to have interviewed a cross section of SHARP volunteers and conduct a survey of some of the reasons we joined. 

All that we do is with the approval of our new liaison officer, Captain Mitchel Ellis. We are an arm of the Police and work under their authority and do not make up our own rules. Our sole purpose is to serve.
Our support of the Manteca Police allows those officers we free up to continue to be available to defend citizens and prevent criminal activity. Our previous liaison officers were Captain Carmona and Captain Beal Prior to them was Captain Charles Goeken (Charlie) who   retired in 2023. He shepherded us for 14 years.

Charlie believed in doing the right thing while maintaining a friendly relationship with the public. It is my hope that these articles will encourage others to join.

We were just under 50 volunteers in 2017. The layoff due to the pandemic caused many to quit because they did not feel it was safe to return or did not want to sign a waiver. Programs such as Graffiti Abatement, AWP (Adult Work Program) RRT, (Rapid Response Team), Vehicle Abatement and Vacation House Checks were shut down for a year and a half.

We have pretty much discontinued one of our original main duties, (patrol). Basically, we are trying to do with 21 what 90 volunteers once did.  This is why we need more help.

 Some are working 80 hours a month and some fulfill their volunteer obligation by just doing the 16. It will always be that way as everyone is a volunteer

I welcome questions about anything we do.   Email: stompkins@manteca.gov   Regular mail:  SHARP UNIT, 1001 W Center St. Manteca, CA 95337