PROGRAMS
Crime Prevention Education
9-1-1 for Kids
Bicycle Rodeo & Safety Day
Children's
Safety Campaign
Citizen’s Police Academy
Citizen’s Ride-Along/Sit-Along
Community Juvenile Diversion
Community Oriented Policing
Community Volunteer Program
Crime Prevention Education
Neighborhood Watch
Police Activities League (PAL)
Police Explorer Program
Tours
Youth Task Force
Children's Safety Campaign
Paso Robles Police Department joins Wal*Mart in their annual Children's Safety Campaign to provide Child I.D. kits for children. Fingerprinting will take place inside Wal*Mart, 180 Niblick Road, Paso Robles. For more information please call 805-237-4086.
Citizen’s Ride-Along Program/
Sit-Along
Program
Would you like to see what Paso Robles police officers do, up-close and be there as they work? You can sit in the front seat of a patrol car and see the activity as it happens. Any seemingly minor call can bring the unexpected. Our location and traffic activity can make our city a dynamic and active place.
Our Ride Along program allows all citizens a chance to ride with an experienced on-duty officer on their regular patrol shift. You never know what will happen—from “routine” patrol work to emergency responses or a major case investigation. Download the Ride Along Program Procedures.
Opportunities also exist with the Communications Division. If you would like to sit alongside of a working Dispatcher and watch them multi-task with radios, telephones and cameras, then this Sit-Along Program is your ticket.
If you are interested in participating in the Ride-Along or Sit-Along Program, download and fill out a Ride Along/Sit-Along Request and a Department Waiver and Release Form and return both to the Police Department at 900 Park Street, Paso Robles, CA 93446. For more information call the Police Department at 237-6464.
Community Juvenile Diversion Program
The Community Juvenile Diversion Program is community-based alternative program for first time offenders of a minor crime. The youth are referred to the program by the Paso Robles Police Department to a panel of community representatives. The representatives will hear each case and assign consequences and subsequently verify completion of assignments by each participant.
The Community Juvenile Diversion Program has the potential to:
- Show a young person that he/she is accountable and responsible for his/her actions.
- Respond on a community level giving the message that crime will not be tolerated.
- Provide immediate intervention.
- Prevent the minor from testing the system with repeated offenses.
- Allow the victim to have input in the procedure.
- Direct youth and families to appropriate services as needed.
Panel members are volunteers from the community. If you are interested in volunteering as a panel member, please complete a Diversion Application [pdf:81k/2pp]. You will be required to attend an 8-hour training, be fingerprinted and undergo a background check. Panels are held at least once a month for 4 hours. For additional questions, contact Community Services Specialist Christina Hatch at 805-237-4086.
Community Oriented Policing (COP)
In recent decades, forward thinkers have embraced a law enforcement philosophy that recognizes the importance of creating a close partnership between citizens and their police to solve community problems that adversely affect quality of life. While this philosophy has received a variety of titles, it is most commonly referred to and best described as Community Oriented Policing (COP)
It has been recognized that traditional law enforcement responses to crime and disorder, by themselves, are ineffective. C.O.P. was conceived as the result of a realization that many causal factors that contribute to criminal behavior include social and environmental issues that may not fit into traditionally accepted law enforcement methods. These broader problems are best identified and addressed through this community and police partnership.
It is important that C.O.P. be recognized, accepted and promoted not as a program, but a philosophy. Community Oriented Policing does not simply require a change in the way we think and interact with the public. It is not merely a community relations program. There are definite factors that separate the Community Oriented Policing philosophy from other police programs.
In order to achieve a true C.O.P. partnership with citizens, police must integrate with the community. Officers are assigned to permanent beat areas where they enjoy the freedom and autonomy to work with the citizens using innovative and creative long-term solutions to resolve community problems. Police officers and citizens are empowered to explore new, proactive initiative, to help solve problems before they occur or escalate.
It is also an objective of C.O.P. to change the attitudes of individual officers who are in traditional patrol assignments. It is focused on creating officers who are problem solvers rather than short-term crisis interveners and crime report takers.
C.O.P. is a revitalization of an age-old concept where citizens and police officers
know one another and work closely together to positively impact social problems in
the community and improve the quality of life. For Paso Robles, C.O.P. is an
opportunity to maximize our working relationship with the community that will, in turn,
result in improved police service.
Tours
Tours of the Public Safety Center, home of Police and
Emergency Services, are by appointment only. If schedules
permit, we will introduce you to our K-9 Officers, Motors and
other “specialized” units. Wear comfortable shoes. Tour takes
approximately 1 hour. To schedule your tour, please contact Judy
Bremer, Emergency Services Administration, 227-7560.
Volunteer Programs
Paso Robles Police Department volunteers come from all walks of life, from professionals that are still in the workforce to retired senior citizens. Volunteers perform many important functions. Their participation allows police officers and other criminal justice employees to spend more time conducting proactive law enforcement activities.
Volunteers perform primarily in two areas: administration and patrol.
Administrative duties include, but are not limited to, data entry, record keeping,
filing, and vehicle tow hearings. Patrol duties include, but are not limited to,
traffic control, special events, business checks, and home vacation checks.
Volunteers assigned to patrol are required to complete a training course. To find out
more about the various volunteer programs, visit the
Police Volunteer Opportunities
page.
Crime Prevention Education Program
The Paso Robles Police Department offers a Crime Prevention Education Program (Download Schedule). Everyone is welcome. We are “Working Together for a Safer Community” If you have an interest in a particular topic, please feel free to contact our Community Services office at (805) 237-4086.
Our Community Services Specialist and Police Officers are available to provide
classroom education and demonstrations to schools, community groups, clubs and
organizations. This is an excellent opportunity for staff to share their expertise.
Requests should be made at least 30 days in advance. Contact the Community
Services Specialist at (805) 237-4086.
Bicycle Rodeo & Safety Day - Spring & Fall
Kids will be given an opportunity to ride through the bicycle safety course as Police Officers & Firefighters are on hand to provide safety tips & awareness. Kids are encouraged to bring their own bicycle & bike helmet. Drawing for prizes and much more ! For upcoming dates, call 237-4086.
Youth Task Force
The Youth Task Force is a partnership of community residents, agencies and institutions to provide prevention and intervention programs to reduce at-risk behaviors in youth, teens and young adults. Formed in 1987 as the Gang Task Force, changed its name in 1993, the task force has been successful in obtaining funds to provide teen employment programs, parenting education and training, a bi-monthly newsletter, teen pregnancy prevention programs, and teen parent nutrition programs Community forums for teens and parents have included gang prevention, conflict resolution, cultural diversity, drug and alcohol abuse. The task force worked with the Paso Robles Police Department to develop and implement the Community Juvenile Diversion Program for first-time offenders of a minor crime.
The Paso Robles Youth Task Force meets the first Thursday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the Public Safety Center located at 900 Park Street. The task force does not meet during the month of July or December. Everyone is welcome to attend. We would love to hear what you are doing with kids in your club and/or organization. If you are looking for ways to be involved “making a positive difference,” please contact Christina Hatch at 805-237-4086.
Links
Childrens Services Network http://www.co.slo.ca.us/CSNbb.nsf/WebView?OpenView
San Luis Obispo County YMCA
http://www.sloymca.org/programs.htm
