The West Covina Police Department’s Seniors Helping Our Police (SHOP) program allows senior citizens to channel their energy back into the community by performing non-hazardous public safety duties on a volunteer basis, primarily in the field. Since the program's inception in 1991, SHOP personnel have volunteered over 170,000 hours, marking over 14,000 abandoned or illegally parked vehicles, performing over 20,000 vacation house checks for residents, serving over 8,000 subpoenas and issuing over 30,000 parking citations. Staffed by volunteers age 55 and older, and headed by a director, two administrators and a coordinator, the members routinely perform a wide variety of duties for the Department. While the primary function of SHOP is to assist patrol officers in non-hazardous duties, travelling the streets of West Covina in 2-person fully equipped marked vehicles, SHOP volunteers perform many duties, including the following:

• Parking Enforcement
• Abandoned Vehicle Checks
• Traffic Control
• Vacation House Checks
• Assisting Disabled Motorists
• Delivering Court Documents
• Servinging Subpoenas
• Special Event Assistance
• Vehicle Transportation
• and more!

As the work of SHOP volunteers frees up sworn Police Officers, the program has saved the City about four million dollars! The program received a national award from the Foundation for Improvement of Justice in 1999, and the Winston Crouch Award for Innovation in Government from the American Society for Public Administration in 2001.

An emergency call out procedure is used to mobilize SHOP members during major traffic collisions, hazardous material spills, fires, extreme weather conditions, or any crisis. One of the members can be reached 24 hours per day by the Department and will then mobilize the required volunteers in a matter of minutes.

To be a member of SHOP, you must be at least 55 years old, possess a valid California driver's license, pass a background check, be physically capable of performing SHOP duties, complete the four week/24 hour SHOP training regimen conducted by SHOP members, be willing to contribute at least 4 hours of time per week to the program, and attend a monthly meeting.

Seniors Helping Our Police is seeking new members. If you are interested in helping your community in an exciting and significant program, SHOP membership may be for you. Please call (626) 939-8557 for more information.