ASHEVILLE — Today’s reader-posed question asks for the scoop on how the general public can get involved and volunteer with law enforcement agencies around town.
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Question: Does the Asheville Police Department or the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office have opportunities for volunteers? What's the scoop?
Answer: We reached out to these two main law enforcement agencies in the area and compiled several different ways civilians can get involved to varying degrees, from the Citizen’s Academy at APD to the Sheriff’s Executive Resource Volunteers.
As one might guess, the more involved the work is operationally, the more training is required to volunteer.
APD Capt. Joe Silberman told the Citizen Times that police used to have a handful of volunteers, the number of which fluctuated throughout the years. The volunteers would help in victim services and with intaking information from people who filed police reports. These positions required a lot of vetting and support from administration due to the amount of information they were privy to, Silberman said.
“There was a good handful for a number of years, an absolutely excellent corps of volunteers,” Silberman told the Citizen Times Feb. 14. “Then COVID-19 happened, and chairs went empty. … All of a sudden that disappeared with this idea that it was going to come back, and it just never did.”
Now, only one permanent volunteer remains in criminal investigations. This person goes through old records and creates easily searchable records from the old ones, Silberman said. That volunteer has been with APD since 2007.
“She is definitely highly, highly self-sufficient and has a good mind and skill set for what she does,” Silberman added.
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In criminal investigations, APD has moved away from volunteers and toward internships, Silberman said. There are two different categories of internships at APD. One is an internal internship that allows existing sworn officers to undergo a detective training program.
The other type of internship is open to outside people and allows college students to get involved in APD’s forensic unit for college credit. After a vetting process, the interns start doing basic lab work and their responsibilities slowly enhance as they become more competent at the work, Silberman said.
Interested students can reach out to APD, typically through a program at their school, and the police department’s Career Development Office will connect with the forensics lieutenant to see if there’s room for the intern to get involved.
Silberman said the number of interns fluctuates year by year. Some years the department might take two interns if three or four apply. Then there are years like last year, when no students reached out about the program.
“It’s something we try and find the time to do because it definitely lines people up,” Silberman said. “It gives them a familiarity with our trade, and it’s good being an instructor because going over how you’re supposed to do things makes you better at your job.”
Silberman also mentioned their chaplain corps, which is a group of volunteers that support officers in a variety of ways by giving the opening prayer and benediction at swearing in ceremonies, going on ride alongs and providing group and moral support.
Can an average person get involved at APD?
If a regular Jane or Joe with no police training would like to get involved at the police department, Silberman suggested applying for APD’s Citizen’s Academy, which APD first started in 1992.
“I wish I could say ‘you just sign up to be a volunteer right here’ and it’s a simple thing like that,” Silberman said. “It’s a little more nuanced than that.”
“A good start would be to go through our citizen’s police academy and get to know how it works here,” Silbermans said, adding that people get the opportunity to ask questions of different units and hear what it’s like to work in criminal investigations, computer crimes, forensics and other facets.
APD typically runs two citizen’s academies per year, one in the spring and one in the fall, according to Silberman. The upcoming spring academy filled its 25 spots, with more people on the waitlist for the course in the fall. For those interested in attending, Silberman said APD will announce how to apply in the upcoming months.
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Opportunities at the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office
The sheriff's office is also running a program where citizens can learn more about what day-to-day operations look like, called the Residents Academy, according to spokesperson Christina Esmay.
The Sheriff's Academy will run from March 5 to April 30 and meet each week on Tuesday nights from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., except for April 1 and April 5, when schools are on spring break.
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Those interested in participating are asked to email Capt. Dustin Auldredge at dustan.auldredge@buncombecounty.org to receive an application form.
If anyone is looking to have a more hands-on voluntary role at the sheriff's office, they can volunteer as a Sheriff's Executive Resource Volunteer, or SERV. This is a non-paid community service position within one of the following offices, including the Patrol Division, the Courthouse, the Detention Facility, and our Crime Prevention Unit, according to the sheriff's website.
"They help with funeral escorts, help work the metal detectors in court security, they volunteer at community events," spokesperson Aaron Sarver told the Citizen Times Feb. 19. "There's a lot of different volunteer opportunities that don't consist of arresting people or investigating crimes or responding to calls for service."
Volunteers don't have to go through law enforcement training to be a part of SERV, Sarver said, but they do need to complete the Sheriff's Academy.
"One of the supervisors in our Support Operations Division is going to do a basic background check, drug test, check their driver's license and that kind of stuff," Sarver said. "You're going to come in and meet with one of the support ops supervisors and they'll gauge what the level of interest is and what they'd want to be doing as a SERV volunteer."
According to the sheriff's website, "SERV volunteers have served more than 15,300 hours at the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, delivering more than $345,000 worth of services."
The sheriff's office also has an opportunity for sworn officers to volunteer as reserve deputies. These deputies may respond to dispatched calls for service, serve civil papers, work in courthouse security, address confirmations of registered sex offenders, among a variety of other roles.
Sarver said reserve deputies are typically retired or volunteer extra time.
"The reserve deputies are not paid but they have all the ability to arrest and carry a gun," Sarver said. "They do work the kind of secondary assignments, very typically they'll be doing security at churches, and they'll be paid by the church to do that."
Reserve deputies are required to maintain the same levels of certification and training as full-time deputies. They must undergo the full N.C. Basic Law Enforcement Training course, annual in-service updates and annual firearms training and qualifications.
"People can also volunteer to aid with our BCDF Chaplaincy program," Esmay said. "Additional events that may come up throughout the year will be posted on our Facebook."
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Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
