In 1991 the City of San Clemente began experiencing significant fiscal problems which threatened the future financial viability of the city. Emergency spending restrictions were imposed, capital projects were deferred, positions were eliminated, and hiring freezes were imposed.

In April 1993, San Clemente requested and received a proposal from the Orange County, California, Sheriff’s Department to replace its 65-year-old police department. In July 1993, the city disbanded its police department and achieved a $2 million reduction in costs and a significant increase in services. Both the reduced costs and the increased levels of service were included in the city’s financial strategic plan.

The City of San Diego, like many cities, has introduced community policing into its police department. But what makes San Diego’s approach to neighborhood policing unique is the unparalleled extent to which the police department has made volunteers an integral component of its community-policing program.

The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) possesses a volunteer workforce of approximately 800 citizens. The San Diego experience has demonstrated convincingly the benefits of involving volunteers in the business of law enforcement. The benefits include:

• More than $1.5 million worth of policing man hours from volunteers (see Table 3);
  
  
• The addition of several new policing services;
  
  
• Better police/community relations; and
  
  
• Allowing police officers to focus more time on serious crimes.

In addition to general policing volunteers, San Diego’s program has two specialized units: the Crisis Intervention Team and Retired Senior Volunteers on Patrol.

Since 1992, the San Diego Police Department has sponsored seven Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) Programs. RSVP members wear uniforms with a badge, carry police radios, and drive donated vehicles. The vehicles display the city’s seal and are marked "San Diego Police." RSVP’s have a variety of duties not involving enforcement matters (RSVP’s do not carry weapons) which enhance the police department’s service to the community. Typical duties include: vacation house checks — when a citizen is gone for five or more days and wishes a security check of their property; YANA (You Are Not Alone) visits — where RSVP members visit persons living alone on a periodic basis to check on their welfare and security, and to provide contact with the community; service needs, such as broken street lights and potholes; fingerprinting; crime-prevention presentations; and marking of abandoned vehicles. Recently, RSVP’s have begun to do witness checks and provide other assistance to area investigators. In the first three years of the RSVP program in Rancho Bernardo, crime dropped 25 percent.

The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), composed of selected citizen volunteers who are specially trained to provide immediate emotional and practical support to victims, witnesses, and other survivors of traumatic situations, has proven to be a valuable resource. CIT statistics show a continuing increase in calls for service since 1989. CIT members are available on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week. Members sign up for a minimum of 20 hours of on-call duty per month.

There are only a few other cities that come close to the size of San Diego’s volunteer policing program. Similar programs have been started throughout San Diego County by the Sheriff’s Department and other local law enforcement agencies. Other cities that are known to have sizable and/or innovative programs are: Lakeworth, Florida; Oceanside, California; Charleston; Orlando; Denver; Portland; Phoenix; Atlanta; Salt Lake City; and Seattle.

The use of private security has been spurred by the expanding numbers of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). BIDs are special organizations of businesses in an area that pay a special tax to pay for extra security, cleaning, and other services to enhance the attractiveness of the area to customers. It is estimated that in 1996 there were nearly 1,000 BIDs in the United States, and more being proposed.

The success of the additional security provided by BIDs to lower local crime has been demonstrated many times over. Two of the most famous examples are the Los Angeles garment district BID, where brightly dressed security guards on bicycle have reduced crime in the area by 20 percent, and the Grand Central BID in New York City, where extensive private security patrols have produced a 60 percent drop in crime.

The growth of more sophisticated and effective private security services has also contributed to its expanding use. Some security companies have begun to specialize in providing highly trained and better-paid guards, equipped with high-tech gear and using aggressive techniques, to deter crime.

A good example is Critical Intervention Services (CIS), which provides security in over 50 low-income apartment complexes in Florida. CIS uses armed guards in SWAT-style uniforms with visible bullet-proof vests. Their intent is to intimidate would-be trouble makers, but they also work closely with the local residents and landlords to establish a rapport. The result has been an average 50 percent decrease in crime in the complexes CIS patrols.