Town's Volunteers in Policing Program Lauded

In the Hebrew and Christian traditions the notion of law derives from the Decalogue and the Sermon on the Mount.

The legislator develops the law, the judiciary interprets it and the police apply (enforce) it. Given a certain amount of anarchy in each of us, we require a patrol to keep us on target. But will that body be hostile or benign?

Interestingly, “police” was a word at first very like the term “policy.” The first “police force” occurred in 1798, a squad set up to protect merchandise at the Port of London. Only in 1865 in Austria did we first hear of a “police state.” Now we see police attacking, not serving, people in Egypt and Bahrain.

I remember returning to the good "ole" USA after living three years in Scotland. A scene on a New York City street corner shocked me: A leather-jacketed member of the city’s finest dismounted from his gleaming motorcycle and strode around, thumbs in his belt, swinging his baton and displaying his holstered revolver.

A shocking sight because I had become used to the British bobby quietly walking his beat, often in a long trench coat, no weapons visible. If he sported a baton, it hung hidden beneath his coat. Only if there were a crisis would a gun be issued to him at the police station.

This personal background led me to notice with interest at a Los Gatos intersection a white sedan bearing a name on the side panel: Volunteers in Policing. Then I learned my friend, Joe Neely, occupied a place in that volunteer group. Through him I came to meet officer Gwen Cross, a 22-year veteran.

Cross heads up the VIP program. Apparently this civilian group of about 35 men and women of all ages does a variety of tasks including office duties, finger printing, domestic vacation checks, graffiti patrol, traffic control in stress times, security for special events, orientation packets to community newcomers, etc. When on duty they wear special VIP uniforms, caps and patches.

The VIP program began under former Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Chief Larry Todd in 1994. It continues under who emphasizes proactive, community-oriented policing. According to Cross, the chief wants his officers to “reach out to get to know people.”

At the outset of the VIP program some suspicions and hesitancy existed among the officers: “Won’t these folk be a nuisance?” A few vigilantes want-to-bes got weeded out quickly. And now, Cross says, “We don’t know what we’d do without the VIPs.”

What a different image this presents than the one I saw years ago on that New York City street corner. This volunteer program bridges the gap between them and us. It speaks of a force in social service to the community and as law enforcers only when necessary.

Other VIP programs thrive in California, including in West Covina and Stockton. The Los Gatos-Monte Sereno edition stands as the only one in this area. Well done!