Pasadena Police Volunteers Honored for 10,500 Hours of Service at Awards Ceremony

About 125 Pasadena Police civilian volunteers and their family members, police officers and command staff, including Pasadena Chief of Police Phillip Sanchez and his wife Deborah, gathered last Thursday at the Altadena Town and Country Club for the awarding of honors and service pins to civilian volunteers and to remember those volunteers who have passed away.

Officer Kimberly Baecker, who heads the Volunteer Program at the Pasadena Police Department, emceed Dinner, which is held to recognize the volunteers who together have rendered more than 10,500 volunteer hours during the past year in a variety of assignments.

Baecker spoke about how the volunteers’ work has saved the city over $294,000 in costs.

“The volunteer program is truly priceless,” Baecker said. “We have the general volunteers who assist in the community set services section at park events, neighborhood watching, coffee chats, JPSA (Junior Police Safety Academy). We have volunteers in the record section, the chaperone program. We have a few volunteers on the side that takes photography, to see something say something, support operations, professional standards, DUI checkpoints, helicopter flying, the motor rodeo.”

Volunteers were particularly busy in the weekend before Thanksgiving and all the way till Christmas, and contributed almost 600 hours in the preparations for New Year’s Day until after the Rose Parade, Baecker said.

Among the awardees is Hovannes Sarkissian who rendered 4,000 hours of volunteer service and Art Wetton who gave 3,000 hours.

Duane Allen, Randy Branson, Pamela Perkins, Shar Stafford and Karen Venable contributed up to 2,000 hours each.

Those who gave up to 1,000 hours each are Raymond Avesian, Ledo Cheung, Darryl Hany, Tamia Hope, Otis Triplett and Vivian Ware.

John Jacobsen, Michael Janetzke, Catherine Lepic, Peter LeSourd, Susan McGillis, Julie Paque and Sean Stellar each contributed up to 500 hours each of volunteer work for the Police Department.

The treasured Kacy Jones Award was bestowed onto Shar Stafford.

Civilian volunteers currently serve on five major programs that support the Department:

• Citizens Assisting Pasadena Police (CAPP), composed of specially trained volunteers who provide uniformed, non-enforcement services patrolling residential and commercial areas to provide extra “eyes and ears” for the Department

• Youth Accountability Board (YAB) which is a diversion program for first time juvenile offenders

• Chaplain Corps, made up of ordained clergy from within the community who support to the Department in situations involving death, serious injury, suicide and domestic violence

• Equestrian Unit which provides uniformed patrol and surveillance in the Arroyo Seco recreation area and Pasadena foothills

• Missing Persons Unit (MPU) staffed by volunteers who assist the Department in conducting missing persons investigations

• Community Response to Eradicate and Deter Identity Theft (CREDIT) unit with volunteers assisting victims of identity theft and conduct investigations in fraud, sending letters to various financial entities, contacting outside jurisdictions, collecting evidence

• General Volunteers, who prefer to assist the Department in a variety of activities that take place either in the Department or at special events, rather than going out on patrol.

For more information about the Volunteer Program at Pasadena Police Department, visit www.cityofpasadena.net/police/Volunteer_Mission_Statement