The Ramsey County Sheriff's Department offers many volunteer opportunities. We invite you to join us in making a difference in the community. Here are the current offerings:
- Sheriff's Youth Literacy Program
- Water Patrol Reserve Deputy
- Volunteers Involved in Public Safety (VIPS)
If you're interested in any of the following volunteer activities, please call 651.266.7332.
Youth Literacy
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office is seeking volunteer tutors for its Youth Literacy Program at McDonough Community Center.
Tutors will work with school age children ages 6-10 in an after-school academic, enrichment and recreational program.
Job Duties
- Tutor youth in speaking, reading, writing and spelling
- Assist with homework
- Tutors can also attend and supervise recreational activities and field trips
Qualifications
- Enjoy working with youth from various cultures
- Able to communicate positively with youth and staff
Time commitment
- Be able to volunteer a minimum of two hours a week (Monday through Thursday from 4 – 6 p.m. When possible, tutors will be paired with the same student throughout the school year.
Benefits
- Personal satisfaction in helping youth develop literacy skills and self-esteem
For more information, or to apply for a tutor position, please contact Susan Vang at the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office at 651.266.9391.
Water Patrol - Reserve Deputy
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office Water Patrol Unit is accepting applications for new members. The Water Patrol Unit is supplemented by volunteer Reserve Deputy Sheriff's.
To be eligible for application you must be:
- A United States Citizen
- 18 years of age
- Possess a valid drivers license
- Successfully complete a criminal history check and background investigation
- Pass interview panel and the completion of the Academy
For interested citizens, applications can be picked up at the Ramsey County Sheriff's Patrol Station, 1411 Paul Kirkwold Drive, Arden Hills, MN 55112, Monday – Friday, 7 am to 4:30 pm. If you have further questions about the Ramsey County Sheriff's Water Patrol Unit, you may call 651.266.7350.
Volunteers Involved in Public Safety
Volunteers Involved in Public Safety (VIPS) allows the Sheriff's Office to involve volunteer citizens in non-law enforcement community crime prevention programs by working together on solving problems of crime and enhance the overall quality of life in their neighborhoods
This effort to improve public safety for all citizens within Ramsey County has identified its major goals as: encouraging broad based participation in law enforcement; expanding volunteerism; developing a partnership with law enforcement to become proactive in crime prevention. Additional components of the program include a Citizen's Academy, Youth Academy and Community Affairs Officers (CAO). The citizen's academy is an effort to expose and educate Ramsey County citizens to what police work is all about and to understand what problems and opportunities deputies face daily in their work. The CAO's are volunteers whose primary focus is to start and maintain programs within their communities that promote public awareness and involvement in public safety and crime prevention.
If you have further questions, you may call 651.266.7332.
Community Affairs Officers
The Community Affairs Officers (CAOs) are a group of volunteers made up of Ramsey County residents who wish to participate in non-law enforcement activities. The CAO's are required to attend an eight-week academy to introduce them to some of the events they will be participating in.
Community Watch
The CAOs are responsible for entering and maintaining the Community Watch computer system. As crime becomes an increasing problem in today's society, it has become a necessity to get our communities involved in crime prevention efforts. Throughout the world law enforcement agencies are implementing Community Based Policing programs to get citizens and businesses involved. The key to the success of Community Oriented Policing is sharing information.
DWI Vehicle Seizure and Forfeiture
CAO Dan Mahai has been assisting me with the day to day paperwork necessary to forfeit the DWI vehicles. We are currently in the process of forfeiting twenty that were taken away from the habitual drunk drivers. The department has completely forfeited fifteen vehicles since our Volunteer Services were given the forfeiture task ten months ago. The proceeds from the auctioned vehicles are used to purchase portable breath testers, and other equipment to support the squad room's DWI efforts.
Park Watch Project
The CAOs are involved in many aspects of keeping the community parks safe for the enjoyment of the area residents. The CAOs are in the parks walking, biking, talking to residents, and monitoring specific complaint areas for criminal activity.
Premise Surveys
We have several CAOs who are trained on conducting a security evaluation of your home or business. When you set up an appointment, a CAO will come to your home, or business, and make an interior and exterior evaluation of the security risks. The CAOs will make recommendations on how to make your house or business less appealing to the criminal element. The CAOs have conducted well over 100 evaluations, and have opened a lot of eyes about each dwelling's vulnerability.
Speed Reduction Project
The Speed Reduction Project is an effort to assist the Traffic Squad & District Squads with the growing traffic problems in our contract communities. The CAOs work closely with the Traffic Squad in the following areas:
SMART Trailer
The CAOs set up and take down the SMART Trailer (Speed Monitoring and Recording Trailer) in the speed complaint areas. The CAOs take the data that is recorded on the SMART computer and print out the information for the deputies to review. The data will inform the deputies of when the largest concentration of traffic is passing through a neighborhood in excess of the speed limit.
Radar Detail
The CAO's have been instructed on the use of the hand held radar gun to evaluate traffic speeds in complaint areas. The CAOs will monitor vehicle speeds during the complaint times and advance the information on to the squad room. The violator's license plate and vehicle description are recorded and, if the information is correct, a warning letter is sent to the Registered Owner of the vehicle.
