Full Notification

On Wednesday, November 12^th, the Amarillo Police Department held its annual volunteer appreciation luncheon.  The luncheon was held at Youngblood’s Downtown Café, with about 21 volunteers and their guests attending.

The luncheon is held to express appreciation to the volunteers that assist the Amarillo Police Department.  Most of the volunteers work in the Handicapped Enforcement Patrol, issuing citations to vehicles found in violation on local parking lots.  Volunteers also serve as chaplains and perform various duties in the Service Division and Traffic Investigations Squad.  The volunteers generously provide the police department with varying amounts of their time, from a few hours to over 980 hours each.  Their work frees both civilian and sworn employees from some routine duties and allows them to concentrate on work that normally would require a full time employee.  Volunteers provide assistance by responding to complaints about violations of the handicapped parking laws, by assisting with document destruction, by helping manage patrol car equipment, by inventorying and moving vehicles and supplies, and by performing administrative tasks such as filing.  

This past year, the Handicap Parking Enforcement Patrol worked 4,010 hours and issued 2,000 citations, bringing the total number of citations issued by the group since inception to 23,992 tickets.

The volunteers contributed a total of 5,751 hours to department tasks in 2014.    

Highlights of the luncheon included honoring two volunteers, each with more than 21 years of daily volunteering.  Ed Francis and Dave Barnett were both given certificates of appreciation, and gift cards.  Two other volunteers were specially honored for their hours of service this past year:  Sharron Jones with 601 hours worked and James Jones with 486 hours.

The Amarillo Police Dept. is currently seeking volunteers to help with many administrative tasks. Most volunteers work for the Handicapped Enforcement Patrol. They also perform various duties in the Property and Traffic Investigations Units, and many are needed for data entry. Their time contribution frees both civilian and sworn employees from some duties and allows them to concentrate on work that only a full time employee or officer can do.
If you have some time you’d like to invest in helping your police department and your community, please contact Sgt. Steve Davis at 378-6143.