Mankato recruits volunteer cops
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In the face of cuts to local government aid and other funding, many cities are turning to volunteers to perform work that city employees used to do. In Mankato, the trend extends even to using unpaid licensed police officers.
One thing: If you're considering applying, you must have your own gun.
This isn't a new program in Mankato, says Todd Miller, the city's director of public safety, but it's been stepped up dramatically in recent months. He says Mankato has a reserve of non-sworn officers who patrol parks and parking ramps and help with traffic control during events. It also has a "part-time police officer unit," as Miller calls it. "They become licensed and sworn and can carry guns and make arrests. We utilize them for some of the same things as the reserves, but they can ride in a patrol with other sworn officers."
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When Miller started as public safety director last April, he brought with him a philosophy he calls, "community-oriented governance," which involves "more outreach and more use of volunteers." That's especially important, he says, since there have been so many police officer and firefighter positions cut in recent years. "We have 30 volunteer firefighters," says Miller. "We want to increase that to 45. We have approximately 12 reserve police officers and 12 part time police officers. We want to double that if not more to make better use of the community."
He says volunteer cops are given a uniform but they have to provide their own special equipment, like Kevlar gloves. And they have to bring their own guns, which must be of a respectable make and 9 mm or larger caliber.
As for who is willing to do police work for free, Miller says, "Mankato has a great resource here. We have four institutes of higher education and a number of them have law enforcement or public safety classes. Some volunteers are hoping to get a leg up in their careers. It's tough to get a job. This is how they can get some experience." Others, he says, might be long-time residents who simply want to help out.
There are limits, of course, to how a city can use unpaid officers. "Some are limited in the time they can put in," says Miller. "That's the reason to have a large number. You're never going to get them all at the same time." He says volunteers haven't been used to fill regular shifts yet. "But that's a possibility in the future, too. If someone is sick, can we call them in? Sure, as long as we train and prepare them, they should have the same skills."
"The new normal is here and we are getting tired of hearing we have to do more with less," says Miller. "We're going to do the best we can with what we have."