The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office is seeking volunteers for its Sheriff's Team of Active Retirees, or STAR, program.
Qualified volunteers serve as "eyes and ears" in support of the department's overall community service efforts.
Those who qualify for the program will participate in an intensive training academy scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, Oct. 15-26, with selected days of afternoon training for driver proficiency evaluation, central dispatch visitation and accident-scene control. Following graduation from the training academy, volunteers will participate in post-academy field training conducted by experienced STAR members Oct. 29-Nov. 21 in countywide patrol assignments.
The academy includes instruction and interaction with experienced STAR members, deputies, detectives, California Highway Patrol officers, correctional officers and department administrators, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. Training focuses on law-enforcement crime prevention and community support, with participation in marked-vehicle patrol units, vacation home checks, community events, traffic/parking control, radio communications, emergency response support, basic law enforcement support, staffing community substations in El Dorado Hills and Pollock Pines, and basic office and clerical support.
STAR volunteers must be at least 50 years old, have no criminal history, a good driving record, physical clearance from a doctor and pass an oral interview board. They must commit to a minimum of 16 hours of volunteer service each month, attend a required monthly station meeting, purchase their uniform, and satisfactorily complete the training academy and 16 hours of post-academy field training.
Participants also are required to attend and complete the Sheriff's Citizen's Academy within 18 months of becoming a STAR.
The STAR academy will be conducted at the Sheriff's Office Training Facility in Placerville. For information and an application, call (530) 621-7545. The application deadline is Aug. 17.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.