Six new Community Service Officers (CSO) will get their debut in Dublin this Friday at the City’s Independence Day festivities. These resident volunteers will be assisting with security and directing traffic for the events going on throughout the day.
The CSO program kicked off last year at the Dublin Irish Festival and over the last year the program has provided a wide range of services to Dublin residents. These citizen volunteers work alongside police officers to help reduce crime and promote safety across the city. Most recently, they supported the Police in the search for an endangered/missing teen in June who was found a few hours later.
In addition to serving the community at City events, CSOs regularly assist the Police Division by performing Vacation House Watch checks, business checks, issuing crime prevention notices and responding to vehicle lock outs.
But for new CSO member Chris Bowles, it’s not just about serving the community it’s about supporting the police officers too. Bowles said “The program really highlighted all the officers do for us and gave us plenty of opportunities to assist them in ways that allow them to focus on their primary mission of preventing and reducing crime.”
The addition of the new six CSOs, brings the City’s total to 15 men and women who are a part of the team. All were required to complete the Dublin Citizens Police Academy and went through an extensive background check. The training covered a wide range of topics from CPR to radio procedures to how to direct traffic. Additionally, all of the CSOs are required to volunteer at least eight hours a month.
Police Chief Heinz von Eckartsberg said the CSOs have become a vital, positive extension of the Police Division within the community. “They not only are extra sets of eyes and ears for us, they provide us with the ability to shift our focus as events dictate. They are an asset we are very fortunate to have in our city.”
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Media contact:
Jodi Andes, City of Dublin Senior Public Information Officer
614.410.4504 Desk
614.704.9742 Cell
jandes@dublin.oh.us
