THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 20, 1995 TAG: 9501200518
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
At a time when a former police chief and a citizens group are urging a substantial - and expensive - increase in the police force, a program that put unpaid volunteer officers on the street has been canned.
``After considerable evaluation, we have determined that the present structure of our Auxiliary Police Officer Program is not cost-effective and does not meet the city's needs,'' said Police Chief Melvin C. High in a letter to the program's participants.
That leaves Norfolk alone among the South Hampton Roads cities. All others have auxiliary forces.
The situation could change, however. High is leaving the door open to launching a new program and said a study is being done of how to structure it. And he praised participants for making ``a tangible contribution to the community.''
But the letter, dated Dec. 28, angered some participants who said canceling the program amounts to false economy.
``The money that was invested in the program is going to be totally lost,'' said one participant, who asked that his name not be used because he hopes to get a full-time police position. ``And it's kind of like saying to us, `You did a good job and now you're out of here.' ''
The auxiliary officer said the volunteers deserved better because they had given so much.
``Some of us are in the military, some of us are married, some of us have full-time jobs. But we took 26 weeks of our time that we didn't get paid for and went through the same exact program as a full-time officer. We gave up a lot.''
High said that volunteers who meet Civil Service standards and who had asked to join the paid force would be recommended for elevation to the top of the waiting list for entry-level police jobs.
It was unclear exactly how many officers were involved in the program when it was abruptly terminated, but participants said the number was between 10 and 15.
Two participants blamed the city for the only problem with the program that could have made it costly - a problem, they said, that could have been fixed.
Norfolk picked up the tab for training the auxiliary force but - unlike other cities - did not require graduates to commit to a period of service. As a result, many trainees won paid positions on neighboring forces, sometimes not long after graduation.
``It's not our fault for wanting paid jobs,'' said a former participant who took a job in another city.
A present participant on the Norfolk Auxiliary agreed, saying that police officials realized early on that not requiring a minimum service commitment ``was a big mistake and that they would (require one) with the next class.'' But two years into the program, which was launched in 1992, no one had been asked to sign on the bottom line.
``We are going to give our officers extra arms and extra eyes and extra brains,'' Assistant City Manager George Crawley said when the program was proposed.
About 200 people applied to be part of the first class; 26 were chosen, and only 14 finished.
Participants went through more than 500 hours of police academy training. When they hit the streets, there were only two major differences between them and regular cops. The auxiliary officers, who wore the same uniform as full-time officers, were allowed to act officially only when on duty. Regular police are considered to be on duty 24 hours a day. The other difference: the regulars got a paycheck.
The program was launched during the tenure of former chief Henry P. Henson, who joined with the Norfolk Neighborhood Crime Prevention Coalition earlier this month to call for a dramatic increase in the city's police force.
Although reported crime in Norfolk has declined in all categories except homicide and arson, the coalition said the city needs to increase its police force by 44 percent, from 687 members to 993. by CNB