Police and Fire Volunteer Program

Become a Rocklin Police and Fire Volunteer

Are you an honest and dependable person looking for a rewarding way to spend a few hours per week? Would you like to make a difference in your community? If so, you may be a great candidate for the Rocklin Police and Fire Volunteer Program.

Volunteers provide a key role in helping the Police and Fire Departments provide a high level of service to the community. There are currently more than 80 Volunteers in the program. Volunteers allow the Police and Fire Departments to undertake programs and projects that were previously not feasible because of a lack of available resources and staff.

What Volunteers Do

Rocklin Police and Fire Volunteers perform a wide variety of functions including but not limited to:

• Patrol the City as an extra set of eyes and ears for the community
• Provide traffic control at accident scenes
• Greet and assist citizens at the front counter of the Police Department
• Work with crime statistics
• Fingerprint children
• Deliver documents and evidence
• Staff special events
• Perform security inspections
• Conduct vacation checks
• Provide safety and emergency preparedness presentations to schools and neighborhoods
• Provide fire safety, File of Life and Hand Only CPR to members of the community
• Provide instruction or service for proper car seat installation

Rocklin Police Department Volunteers are civilians who serve as extra “eyes, ears, and helping hands” for the Police and Fire Departments. They do not engage in contacting, detaining, or arresting suspicious persons or criminals. Volunteers are not sworn police officers or firefighters, have no powers of arrest beyond those of any private person, and do not carry weapons or fight fires.

Become a Volunteer

REQUIREMENTS

To become a Rocklin Police and Fire Volunteer, you must be:

• at least 18 years of age
• of good moral character
• able to work well with others
• able to work with minimal supervision
• able to volunteer a minimum of 75 hours per year
• able to volunteer for a commitment of at least 3 years
• free of felony or recent misdemeanor convictions

INTERVIEW

The volunteer appointment process requires the successful completion of an application, oral interview and background investigation. After successful completion of the appointment process, volunteers will begin with an orientation.

APPLICATION PROCESS/ORIENTATION

Appointment to the Rocklin Police and Fire Volunteer program requires the successful completion of an application, oral interview and background investigation. Typically, two or three small groups of volunteers join the program throughout the year. After successful completion of the application process, selected recruits receive an invitation to attend orientation. Volunteer orientation consists of 3 phases. 

Phase 1: The orientation process begins with an overview of the program including tours of both the Police & Fire Departments. 

Phase 2: This phase includes an 8-week period in which new recruits receive introductions to the various volunteer duties in a “hands-on” setting. This method helps provide exposure to all of the different areas within the Volunteer Program making it easier for new volunteers to choose the capacities in which they would like to serve. 

Phase 3: During the final phase of orientation, all new recruits that have joined the program throughout the year will attend three joint sessions that consist of presentations/demos from the various specialty units with the Police Department. These may include but are not limited to Investigations, CSI, SWAT, Communications (911), K-9, EOD (bomb unit) and Professional Standards. This helps familiarize volunteers with the day-to-day operations of the Police Department as well as gives insight into the different functions within each division. The final session ends with a graduation ceremony where friends and family are invited. Typically, Phase 3 occurs during the fall each year. 

Our Volunteers

Although the majority of our volunteers are retired, many are working full-time jobs and raising families. Since there is no requirement to live in Rocklin, some of our Volunteers reside in Roseville, Loomis, Lincoln, and other surrounding communities.

If you are interested in becoming a Rocklin Police and Fire Volunteer, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Wendy Smith by telephone at (916) 625-5440 or via email at wendy.smith@rocklin.ca.us. Please provide your name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number.