Representatives of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office are preparing to patrol area waters, respond to natural disasters and investigate crime scenes.
But they aren’t deputies or detectives.
They’re regular citizens taking part in one of the Sheriff’s Office’s three new volunteer programs.
(Photos courtesy of Susan Miller)
The Volunteer Corps Marine Crime Unit, the Volunteer Agriculture Response Team and the Forensic Services Volunteer Team are accepting applications from students who are studying related courses in college and from anyone else who is interested in taking an active role in helping the county. Volunteers will undergo a background check and fingerprinting, and must be available for a minimum number of hours each month.
“I think this is going to be a great addition. It’s going to be a wonderful opportunity to get people involved and helping out in the community,” said Susan Miller, a forensic shift supervisor at the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Services department. Volunteers for her department will need to be available for a minimum of 16 hours a month and will be dispatched to crime scenes to assist deputies.
It is a hands-on method of lending support to the Sheriff’s Office, but there are limitations. The marine unit isn’t authorized to pursue or board any vehicles. They use their own craft to patrol neighborhood waterways and report any suspicious activity to the Sheriff’s Office, much like a neighborhood watch program — but this one’s on the water.
The agriculture team will work on mending fences, and corralling and handling livestock and other animals in the event of a disaster situation.
The forensics team will work on property crimes such as auto burglaries. Their job will be to collect information, fingerprints and any related evidence at the scene.
Forensics team volunteers will receive specific training related to their duties, Miller said. She worked with other supervisors to create a 40-hour course that volunteers will complete. They’ll learn the science and processing procedures regarding fingerprinting, applicable photography information, and how to identify and collect relevant evidence.
Miller also expects them to learn that forensics work is interesting, but not the action-filled, drama seen on popular television shows.
It’s not glamorous work, either, Miller said. “You’re really out there working hard.”
Crimes aren’t neatly solved in an hour, and there’s a lot more paperwork than you’ll find on the television screen, but it still can be an enjoyable experience for those interested in the field, she said.
Volunteers will be dispatched to crime scenes and will help the county with the many auto burglaries that occur on a daily basis. Miller said there were around 1,500 such incidents in Pasco County during the past year.
While it’s a new program, there are some volunteers already taking the course, and a small number in the field for her department, Miller said. She’s pleased with the results so far, and hopes more people take advantage to learn new skills and volunteer for the Sheriff’s Office in a meaningful way.
“It’s going to be great to have the help and to have the added presence in the community,” she said.
For information about the new volunteer groups, call the Pasco Sheriff’s Office Human Resources Department at (727) 844-7791 or (800) 854-2862, ext. 7791.
To download an application, visit PascoSheriff.com/volunteer-opportunities/.
Published August 19, 2015
