Calgary Vol Unit

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ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POUCE


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The Calgary Police ServiceVolunteer Resource Unit

The author (S/Sgt . Paul Phibbs) was appointed inJuly, 1988to determine the feasibility of co-ordinating existing volunteerprograms and developing new ones.

by Staff Sergeant Paul Phibbs, Calgary Police Service; Nancy Macduff, Macduff Bunt Associates;and, Cathy Glover, Manager of Volunteer Development Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta.

Needs AssessmentPrior to convening staff and volunteers, a needs assessmentstudy was required. For the Calgary Police Service thisproject included statistical information on volunteers'histories and each program's use of systems to supportvolunteer involvement. This also included other such areasas a written mission statement, recruitment plans, policies,recognition programs, application forms, training andorientation.A startling result of the study revealed that the CalgaryPolice Service already had some 26,000 "volunteers" buriedin some 15 programs such as Safety Patrollers, Block Watchand others not including those 950 seconded to the OlympicGames. It also surfaced program inconsistencies: e.g., only8 had built-in volunteer reward and recognition systems andonly 9 had volunteer job descriptions. There were definitelygaps in co-ordination and implementation which the surveyhelped to bring out.Identifying the Task ForceThe Task Force role was to represent various groups withinthe police service, all of the then existing volunteer programsand the community at large. Their assignment was to createa co-ordinated effort to develop and enhance volunteerprograms within the Calgary Police Service. Membersincluded Iine officers, middle managers, police union, n011-police union employees, administrators, co-ordinators ofcurrent volunteer programs such as Block Watch andvolunteers currently serving in the Calgary Police Service.PreparationTask Force co-ordination is most often accomplishedeffectively by involving people outside the organization whoprovide an unbiased approach.The Calgary Police Service hired Nancy Macduff who hadextensive experience in group process activities includingvolunteer programs in a police/security setting. She wasassisted by Cathy Glover who had had local experience inthe Calgary community including the Winter Games. Theassignment of these outside resource personnel was to provideexpert advice when needed and to help the group make thebest decisions and plans for the future.

I n 1981, when Calgary won the bid for the 1988 OlympicWinter Games, a need for assistance in staffing securitypositions surfaced. Consideration was given to using militarypersonnel, private security firms or volunteers. In a city thatprides itself on "Western Hospitality" and the volunteerspirit, it is not difficult to understand why volunteers won,hands down.Community Based PolicingThe idea of community policing is not new. Sir Robert Peel,who first conceptualized modern day policing in England atthe turn of the century, developed a nine-point constitutionfor policing. His thesis held that the main function of policewas to prevent crime. They could only be effective with theacceptance and help from the public at large.The Winter Games ExperienceEighteen thousand volunteers helped in hosting the XVthOlympic Winter Games; (see ReMP Gazette Vol. 50, Nos.10 & 11, 1988). Nine hundred and fifty of these wereemployed in second-line security positions backing up police.The arrangement proved effective with Calgary's securityforces receiving international acclaim. The use of volunteersin a security role under direct police supervision was praisedas a new trend in the management of such events world-wide.As a result, volunteers virtually without exception wentthrough an extremely rewarding experience. Police personnelalso gained enhanced appreciation for the volunteer role inpolicing.After the Games, many police volunteers indicated a desireto continue their services in some police capacity or other.To develop an effective volunteer administration within anestablished police organization requires commitment at allpolice levels as well as a community interest. Support forthe idea of such a body was wide-spread. From the Chiefto those doing the volunteer work enthusiasm was generated.The essential issue was not convincing people to volunteer,but rather to bring them together to develop a mission state-ment, goals and organization. The new structure had not onlyto respect tradition, but also be an administrative instrumentto which all of the programs could look for leadership.The growth in programs and numbers reached a point wherethere was an obvious need for co-ordination, policy settingand in-house support systems. It was at this time that theCalgary Police Service (CPS) put together a comprehensiveapproach to volunteer management.

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Task groups have sometimes been known to fail becauseparticipants are asked to make decisions too quickly orbecause members do not have the sam e know ledge base.SessionsIn preparation for the four-day session, all Task Forcemembers received a book w ith all reports generated fromthe needs assessm ent study. Introductory m eetings w ere heldone w eek prior to Task Force sessions to explain the processand m eeting form at. O nce prelim inary stages w ere com plete,the next step was to hold actual Task Force meetings. TheCalgary Police Service arranged for the group to meet for5 hours every day for 4 days.Task Force ResultsB y the end of the four-day session, the Task Force, throughgroup consensus, identified a num ber of recom mendationsfor the new structure including the V olunteer R esource Unitname as well as critical goals. These recommendationsbecame the foundation for the new unit.

Volunteers: Lou Ferber, Jim Kondo, Graham Kerslake engaged inproperty sorting and tagging in connection with seized property froma "big bust". Cd)iw'Y PIlIi(c Selyin" (Jlww.

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A pproval of the m ission statem ent for volunteer involve-m ent in the police service.

Approval of the concept and structure of the VolunteerResource Unit, and identification of appropriate staffpositions to support the m ission.

D evelopm ent and organization of an A dvisory C om mitteeto the Volunteer Resource Unit. Development of policies and procedures for volunteer

involvement. Development of action plans for recruiting, training/education, recognition and evaluation of volunteers.

Structure development for new program research anddevelopment.A full Task Force report was taken to the CPS Executive

for approval. In December 1988. the entire subm ission wasapproved in principle including the formation of a newVolunteer Resource Unit headed by a Staff Sergeant, w itha civilian co-ordinator of volunteers and a secretary. B udgetallocations w ere arranged for office resources and com putersupport.Advisory CommitteeW ith staffing in place, the next task was to develop theA dvisory C om mittee. This C om mittee included civilians,volunteers and staff w ith an interest in the VolunteerResource Unit. By m id-February 1989, the orig inal TaskForce members, as well as som e additional volunteers andstaff were invited to sit on the Advisory Comm ittee. Afull-day w orkshop w as held to help m ake the transition fromT ask Force to A dvisory C om mittee, to identify expectationsand clarify roles.Policies and ProceduresThe next priority was the development of policies andprocedures for volunteer involvem ent in the police service.T he sch eduled dead line fo r th is project was June 1989, butit was not completed and approved until December 1989.The developm ent of these policies created the follow ingchallenges: Police management's desire to quickly implem ent the

program (and thus involve hundreds of volunteers fr0111the 1988 O lympics) strained the fledgling VolunteerResource U nit structure. Taking the tim e to put the properfram ew ork in place w as difficult. Yet it w as critical to theongoing success of the V olunteer R esource U n it that tim ebe taken for everyone involved to adjust to the change.

In itial schedules established by the Task Force wereunrealistic. It took longer to accomplish most goal andobjectives than anticipated. This had a "dom ino effect"on other goals resulting in m issed deadlines.

The development of consistent policies for all CalgaryPolice V olunteer Program s on such things as screening,

ReM P GAZETTE


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VolunlCC~S: Jack O'Bri~n, ~est Lyster, Lou Torpe, Robert Young, Syd Jackson, Steve Homeniuk, Bill Mcl.auchlan taking part as actors ina mock hne up; part of trauung exercise for Calgary Police Service Recruits. C"/glln 1'"li"r S..n" ,."/i",,,recognition and evaluation of volunteers surfaced someunderlying issues. Many volunteer programs had existed foryears without policies. By establishing specific policies, someindividuals perceived a loss of control over "their program".The co-ordination efforts of the Volunteer Resource Unitwere perceived by some as "unnecessary" for certainprograms. The speed of implementation also caused a misunder-standing about volunteer roles resulting in a fear thatvolunteers might replace police and civilian unionizedpositions.

Operational UnitHowever, once the policies and procedures were approved,the framework was in place to finally begin to co-ordinatevolunteer involvement in the Calgary Police Service. Theyear and a half of assessment and development had paid off.Since January 1989,546 volunteers have been placed in newprojects. New programs now include: Crime Stoppers Information Line COPS - Community Operated Police Stations - supportstaff

Recruit Graduation Hosting School Safety Program Assistants Role play in training exercises

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Community information blitzes. Special Projects Team (See Appendix A)Volunteer recruitment and interviewing is now standardizedand personnel files are maintained. There is now a sense ofcontrol over the development of new programs and anassurance that volunteers in all categories will receiveappropriate recognition and training. Volunteers have nowgained new status within the police organization, defined inwritten policy with specific budget allocations and dedicatedadministrative expertise. With the Volunteer Resource Unitproviding a tangible reference point for both the volunteeras well as regular staff, problems can now be adequately iden-tified and addressed with the Volunteer Resource Unit fillingthe role of "personnel department" for volunteerism. Witha solid base of policy and administrative staff, the CalgaryPolice Service is now equipped to professionally developfuture initiatives with minimal problems. The successfulinvolvement of volunteer members of the community willthus continue to enhance service to the citizens of Calgarythrough community-based policing.Summary The establishment of any volunteer program. new orreorganized, should be planned in advance in an orderlyand sequential process.

All key players need to be involved in all decisions. Change cannot be rushed. Participants need time to review

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Volunteers: DOllCole, Barb Caswell, Roy Brain, Kathy Deans, Dorothy Brain, Sergeant Petersen assisting at the Registration Desk - NationalCrime Prevention Week, October 1989. Colgan Police Service ph",,,evidence from needs assessments and make decisions unit can assist within a police department to effectivelyabout implementation. No amount of planning and involve- involve community resources.ment will remove all resistance, however, using an For further information regarding this article, S/Sgt. Phibbsoutside facilitator lends credibility and objectivity to the may be contacted at telephone (403) 268-8665 or fax (403)implementation of change. 268-8749. Ms. Louise Sprague is presently the co-ordinatorofYolunteer Services and she may be contacted at telephone Ifgiven appropriate development time a volunteer resource (403) 268-8322 or fax (403) 268-8393.

Staff Sergeant P. Phibbs has been a member of theCalgary Police Service for 27 years, serving in trafficduring the early part of his career and then as a ZoneSergeant, as well as Community Services, District StaffSergeant, Arrest Processing Headquarters Division,Youth Unit and Volunteer Resource Unit. He ispresently attached to the Organized Crime Section,in charge of the Auto Theft Unit.Nancy Macduff, President of Macduff/Bunt Associates,of Walla Walla, Washington has 25 years experiencein the management and co-ordination of volunteerprograms. She is the author of Volunteer Recruitmentand Retention: A Marketing Approach and BuildingEffective Volunteer Committees. She has extensiveexperience in criminal justice and secure facilityvolunteer program planning and management. Sheteaches graduate level courses on the management ofvolunteer programs at Washington State University inPullman, Washington.Cathy Glover has worked for 10 years in volunteerism,organizing and administrating volunteers at the AlbertaChildren's Hospital. She was Co-ordinator of theOlympic Volunteer Organization for the 1988 OlympicWinter Games and is presently employed by JuniorAchievement of Southern Alberta in Calgary. She wasactive on both the initial Task Force and Advisory Com-mittee for the Volunteer Resource Unit and is currentlya volunteer with the Crimestoppers information Line.

4 RCMP GAZETTE


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APPENDIX" A"Volunteer Resource Unit Activity

T he Volu nte er R eso urc e Unit is re sp on sib le fo r th e c oo rd i-nation of 270 volunteers com prising the Special ProjectsTeam . They are recruited to com plete both short-term andlong -t erm act iv it ie s. T he f ol low ing is a chr onologic al list ofS pe cia l P ro je ct T eam a ctiv itie s:O CO T elephone SurveyJanuary 28, 1989D elive ry Pamp hlets (B reak& Enters) - D istrict 1-6Week of M ay 29, 1989C alg ary A irp ort O pe n Hou se(Hosting)June 10, 1989S tra te gic P la nn in g Me etin gJune 13, 1989SHOCAP (S ortin g P ro file s)A ugust 17, 1989

O peration Teddy B ear # 1(Ch inook Cen te r)Septem ber 9, 1989"J ai I and B ail"Septem ber 14, 1989Code 2000 - DisasterServi ces Exerci seOctober 3, 1989NationalCrimePreventionWeek,V olu nteer R ecru itin g an dFund Rais ing P re se nt atio nsOctober 29, 1989P rope rty V iewi ngN ovem ber 28 - D ecem ber 2 ,1989

Eme rg en cy S erv ic es E xp o -Adve rt is in g CampaignF eb ru ary 1 2, 1 99 0 - A pril 3 0,1990C risis & T rauma Work sh opReg is tr ati on DeskMarch 1 & 2 , 1990

Recrui t Graduat ion (Hos ti ng )M arch 10, 1989B ic yc le R od eoJune 3, 1989

C om pu ter P rog ramm in g fo rV olu nteer R eso urce U nitJune 19, 1989Recrui t Graduat ion (Hos ti ng )August 11, 1989H ep atitis B ro ch ure P ro je ct(A tta ch to CPS P ay C he qu es )August 23, 1989B ere av emen t V id eoSeptem ber 13, 1989

D isco very H ou se B in goSeptem ber 15, 1989Registration for NationalCrimeP re ve ntio n We ek K ic k-O ffOctober 29, 1989Mock L in e-Up #1 (Recru itin gT ra in ing Exe rc is e)November 9, 1989

Di ff er en ti al ResponseS tr at eg ie s Survey(Telephoning)November 14, 15, 19, 21,1990COPS T ra in ing P anel S es sionJanuary 24, 1990

Senior L iaison Program -V id eo A cto rsFebruary 14, 1990

CODE (D ru g V id eo S ortin g)ProjectApril 16 & 17, 1990Emerg en cy S erv ices E xp o(H ostin g - O peratio n T ed dyBear)April 29, 1990Po li ce Educator s' Confe rence(Hosting & Presentation)M ay 15, 16, 17, 1990Exe rc is e N ight hawk(Rol e P lay-Hos tages )June 13, 1990Que en 's V is it(Crowd Con tro l)J un e 17,2 3 ,2 9 & 30, 1990C alg ary S tam ped e Para de(Marching)July 6, 1990C PS M useum StorageReorganization (Organiz ing)August 16, 1990

CPS M useum Pin Sets(Collating)Septem ber 19, 1990

Mock R ob be ry(T ra in ing V id eo )November 12 , 1990

Updat e (Te lephon ing)November 8, 17,27, 1990Decem ber 13, 1990C omma nd er's C ou rse(Hosting)N ovember 20,22 ,23, 1990Educat ional Resource Material(Sorting)December 19, 1990

Emerg en cy Se rvices E xp o(Hosting)April 29, 1990

Inside The Service - VRUSegmentM arch 26 & 27, 1990

Compute r P rogr amming f or 4Dist ri ct Of fi ceM ay 8, 1990R ec ru it T ra in in g E xe rc is e(Rol e P lay-V ict ims )June 7 & 8, 1990Ma jo r C rime s I nves tig at io nCour se (Ho stin g)June 18, 19 & 20, 1990CPS M useum Pin Sets(Collating)July 4, 1990Internat ional Socie ty of Cr imeP reven ti on P ract it ioner s( ISCPP) Ma iloutAugust 16, 1990Boys & G irls C lU b "H ole InOne" ChampionshipFundraiserG olf T ou rn amen t (S co rin g)August 21, 1990InternationalCouncilof ShoppingCentres, KidsSense FundraisingCampaign (Host in g)O ctober 24, 1990Headquar te rs Int erpr et er L i stI nvest iga ti ve Opera ti on(Sorting)E vid en ce T rain in g V id eo(Acting)January 2 , 1991

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