Photos: Antioch Police Department Honors VIPs for Volunteer Service

On Saturday April 12, the Antioch Police Department honored their Volunteers in Police Service (VIPs) who volunteer their time to assist the police department and provide relief in the form of man power which in turn allows officers to respond to higher priority calls.

Some of their duties include:

• Clerical and Administrative Support
• School and Park Patrol
• Traffic Control
• Special Events
• Abandoned Auto Abatement
• Radar Trailer Placement
• Vacation House Checks
• Handicapped Parking Enforcement
• Illegal Sign Abatement

“The VIPS program are one of our most successful programs and like the Congressman said, this is what makes Antioch so great,” said Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando. “If the public could come in and see the number of work force we have, and when I say workforce I mean free workforce, it’s truly amazing.”

The Chief explained how the volunteers picked up the slack Friday for the police department officers who were stretched thin between two incidents and called it truly amazing. He also noted how they do it everyday which also helps the community along with the police department.

“I do like to joke around and have fun but I want people to understand is that the VIPs truly are family to the police department. What is so great for me to see is that when I see VIPS at work, I see that they want to be here and they are happy,” said Cantando. “I just want to say thank you and let all the VIPs know that we appreciate them and what they do.”

The VIPs are broken down into four categories where they assist police.

• Volunteers in Police Services
• Animal Services
• Crime Prevention Commissioners
• Chaplains

Between January 2013 through September 2013, volunteers worked a combined  8,228 hours of unpaid time.

Congressman Jerry McNerney was on hand for the event and thanked the VIPs for their service while Assemblyman Jim Frazier had a representative on hand to also thank the VIPs.