The Fullerton Police Department was one of the first agencies in Orange County to start an RSVP program. The first graduating class, which consisted of 10 citizens, was in March 1994.

The goal of the program is to:

• Recruit volunteers from the community,
• Train them in various police-related duties which are presently being performed by paid police personnel,
• And then allow them to function in direct support of the police department.

This significantly enhances the department's ability to focus its personnel resources on tasks which volunteers cannot do. These volunteers function as an auxiliary unit of the department, but have no powers of arrest beyond those of any private person.

The department stresses that they do not take overt apprehension action, but rather serve as extra "eyes, ears and helping hands." They do not carry weapons, but have direct communication with our police officers which enables them to quickly report any suspicious activities.

Participants must be:

• Retired seniors,
• Residents of Fullerton.

Participants are trained to handle a multitude of functions for the department such as:

• Home and business security and vacation checks,
• Public fingerprinting,
• Traffic control,
• Clerical work,
• Foot patrols of parks & businesses, and at City events
• Issuing parking citations,
• And providing crowd control at community functions.

If you are interested in becoming an RSVP member or would like more information regarding the program, please contact: Sgt. Eric Bridges at (714) 738-6838 or ebridges@fullertonpd.org