Volunteers are the Heart of the Erie Police Department

Thank you to our selfless volunteers

This week is National Volunteer Week. To kick off the festivities, the EPD celebrated their volunteers at a dinner reception last night. Chief Kimberly Stewart, Deputy Chief Mathis, Commander Haefele and Administrative Manager Sarah Lambert thanked the volunteers for the work they do all year assisting us every day.

Last year, the Volunteers in Police Services (VIPS), dedicated 636 hours to the Police Department which is equivalent to $18,161 in salary cost savings. The volunteer opportunities vary from administrative tasks to assisting in community events to facilitating Restorative Justice to reviewing Professional Standards, and are vital in investigations, patrol, command staff, municipal court and records operations.

In 2022, we were fortunate enough to bring on an additional 7 new VIPS (some had waited two years for the opportunity!)

The VIPS are an invaluable asset to the agency and truly assist us in protecting our community. Thank you, volunteers!

To learn more about the VIPS program, visit https://www.erieco.gov/979/Volunteers-in-Police-Service