As McMinnville's Public Safety Unit celebrates 12 years of existence, it's an appropriate time to break out the microphone and sing the praises of this all-volunteer group.
The Public Safety Unit has been a win from every direction. The unit has helped to make our city safer while saving tax dollars and freeing up man hours for our police officers to work more serious cases.
The all-volunteer unit of auxiliary officers began operation on Oct. 27, 2003 as a way to keep up with the rapid growth the community is experiencing. By handling calls that don't require full-fledged law enforcement officials or emergency personnel, the volunteers allow officers more time to handle police business.
PSU officers are not certified police officers -- and they don't carry a firearm -- but they are specially trained in various areas of emergency and non-emergency services. The unit lends a hand in duties such as funeral escorts, stalled vehicles, special events, fire assistance, medical assistance and traffic control.
Along with giving assistance, PSU officers can be seen patrolling public areas such as ball parks, the Barren Fork Greenway and the walking trail at the Civic Center.
Police Chief Bryan Denton says the unit has become valuable to the department and to the department's budget. During its first four years of existence, the unit worked 8,344 volunteer hours, which saved the city about $140,000 in pay and benefits if an officer was paid for the same job.
"I don't know what we would do without them," said Denton. "They save a lot of police officer time. We get a lot of compliments on the way they handle funeral processions."
The program began with a $36,000 federal grant and a $15,000 local match.
The unit logged 2,439 hours in its first full year. While numbers have fluctuated somewhat over the years, they have held fairly steady as volunteer officers logged 2,204 hours of service last year.
The Public Safety Unit has been a welcome addition to McMinnville as the volunteers serve as extra eyes and ears for the Police Department. It's easy to be critical and jump on a government program when it doesn't work. We should also be quick to praise when a quality program is implemented.
McMinnville's Public Safety Unit has been a benefit to our community and we're pleased to thank the officers for their volunteer service.