Cop volunteers get job done

When Fred Gaeckler began volunteering with the Costa Mesa Police Department more than 16 years ago, he was one of a handful of retired seniors helping out. They mostly did some filing for the officers and a little maintenance work on the squad cars.

Now Gaeckler, 69, of Newport Beach, supervises a crew of 22 volunteers who perform all sorts of tasks from fingerprinting to maintaining case records.

Volunteers help with nearly everything the police do, and often they're entrusted with important tasks. For instance, the fingerprinting done by the city brings in roughly $250,000 a year for the city, said Sue Hupp, the crime prevention specialist and volunteer coordinator with the department.

"I was retired and looking for something to do," Gaeckler said. "One day I saw an ad in the Daily Pilot, and that was it. It just looked good."

Volunteers can end up in virtually any department, from the detective bureau to traffic, crime scene investigationsor property crime.

But perhaps some of the most glamorous work is done by the so-called Citizens on Patrol, a band of volunteers empowered to write tickets and help officers as they investigate traffic crashes. They have their own patrol car fitted with lights, sirens, and a complete computer system that allows them to get notified of calls for service.

In other cities, volunteers ride around in large vans with "volunteer" painted on the side, but Costa Mesa volunteers' vehicle looks like a copcar without the guns and ammunition inside.

In 1995, Gaeckler coordinated the first Citizens Academy at the department. It was meant to be a school for prospective volunteers. With his then-supervising sergeant, Gaeckler analyzed neighboring cities' programs so they could develop some sort of a curriculum.

"It's pretty much run the same way it was then except we've added a few more weeks," Gaeckler said. Now the department requires all volunteers to attend the 13-week academy before volunteering.

The next Citizens Academy begins in September. For more information contact Sue Hupp at (714) 754-5658.