Speedway Community Policing

Historically, the Speedway Police Department has benefited from strong support from the local community. With that in mind, the department has established a Volunteers in Policing (V.I.P.) program. The goals of this program are not only to support the Speedway Police Department’s community policing initiatives, but to further strengthen the ties between citizens and the department through volunteerism.

A few of the goals that the Speedway Police Department seeks to achieve through the implementation of this program are the following:

• To enhance the police department’s Citizen’s Academy, Citizen’s Academy Alumni, and Neighborhood Watch programs;
• To increase our citizen support and community policing initiatives through a partnership with citizens in basic police operations;
• Provide valuable citizen staffing during special events, the completion of basic police duties, and participation in departmental functions.

The V.I.P. program will be based upon a tiered system. Each tier will be representative of a specific set of duties and responsibilities that will be commensurate with training each volunteer receives from the Speedway Police Department. Each tier is progressively more intensive, and requires additional training the further the volunteer progresses in the program. Each volunteer participates only up to and including the tier in which they are comfortable contributing.

The V.I.P. Program is a nationally-recognized program of volunteerism sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The Speedway Police Department will model its program based on the philosophy and policies of the successful IACP programs already established in departments across the United States. With the strong ties to the community of Speedway that already exist, the Speedway Police Department is confident this too will be a successful venture in strengthening the police-community partnership.

Interested in joining the Speedway Volunteers in Policing program?

All candidates for the Volunteers in Policing program must first graduate from the Speedway Police Department’s Citizens Academy, a 12-week course offered once per year. After graduation, Alumni are eligible to apply for the V.I.P. program, when offered by the Speedway Police Department.

The following is a video produced by the International Chiefs of Police regarding some V.I.P. programs around the country: