The volunteer unit of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office consists of two main components, the Citizens Observer Patrol (COP) and the administrative volunteers. The administrative volunteers perform many tasks for the agency. Their hard work maximizes the ability of sworn and non- sworn staff to accomplish important tasks and adds millions of dollars in value to the taxpayers of this county.

Our volunteers can be found in every area of the agency, from Crime Lab to Vehicle Maintenance. Their considerable skills and life experience add a dimension to the agency and create an opportunity for staff and volunteers to learn from each other.

Neighborhood Safety Centers are staffed by volunteers and are located in unincorporated areas of the county. These centers have a variety of services such as, fingerprinting, 911 cell phone giveaway, accident reports, and resource information for the Sheriff's Office and the community. The offices are open Monday to Friday. They are located at:

• Pine Trail Shopping Center, Okeechobee and Military Trail
• The Jewish Federation Center 95th street in Boca Raton
• Boca Del Mar Neighborhood Safety Center at Palmetto Park Circle North Boca Raton

What is The Citizen Observer Patrol (COP)?

The Citizen Observer Patrol(COP) is a volunteer unit of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and is the largest program of it's kind in the United States with over 4000 volunteers. The program is comprised of over 80 individual COP units from neighborhoods much like your own, that have decided to ensure the safety of their communities by forming a partnership with the Sheriff's Office. Volunteers wear distinctive uniforms and drive specially marked vehicles, all provided by the Sheriffs Office, that proudly display to any potential criminal that they are the eyes and ears of law enforcement within their community. There are mounted units in areas that require off road access in order to patrol properly. Several units have bicycle patrols in addition to the patrols in vehicles. The Citizen Observer Patrol program has emerged as a most effective approach to residential safety, awareness and involvement. By its' visibility in specially marked vehicles and personal identifications, the COP serves as a strong deterrent against unlawful actions of potential criminals. Considerable credit for the reduction of crime rates is attributed to the presence of the motorized Citizen Observer Patrols on the streets of participating neighborhoods, along with the continuous vigilance of individual Patrol members.

Who Is On The Citizen Observer Patrol?

A person is appointed as a Citizen Observer when they have met the designated application, background check and training requirements prescribed for the position. A Citizen Observer member has no law enforcement authority or power. Each COP unit and member is supervised by a sworn liaison deputy sheriff, who monitors the performance of the COP's. The COP program itself is supervised by a Sheriffs Lieutenant. The individual units have a chain of command structure similar to the Sheriff's Office, with Captains, Lieutenants and Sergeants assisting in running the unit. The effectiveness of any neighborhood COP is totally dependent on the efficient management of the program by its volunteer patrol leaders, together with the loyalty and dedication of the individual members.

What Does A Citizen Observer Do?

Each COP vehicle is equipped with a radio and police scanner to assist COP volunteers in alerting deputies of any problems they might notice while patrolling their neighborhoods. A Citizen Observers job function is to patrol a designated area, to include area shopping centers, churches, synagogues, public facilities and schools; observe suspicious occurrences, people or objects; check closed houses; contact elderly and infirm individuals upon request. If a situation does arise, the Citizen Observer reports it via radio or hard-line phone to the complaint desk of the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office.

COP Vehicle

How Is A Unit Run?

Once a month a unit meeting is held with the deputy assigned to the unit or a member of the COP Headquarters Staff. These meetings are mandatory and are designed to keep everyone in touch, discuss incidents that have happened since the last meeting and to keep training up to date. Once a month a Captain's meeting is held to discuss organizational issues with unit leadership. . There is no limit on the number of hours a unit patrols its area. The more hours patrolled the more visible and effective the unit will be.

The Citizen Observer Patrol is one of many programs put forth and supported by the Sheriffs Office that demonstrates a commitment to putting the needs of the citizens first. The volunteer program provides a means where citizens can directly participate and interact with the local sheriffs department, thus establishing a partnership against crime for a better quality of life throughout Palm Beach County.

To apply for the Citizen Observer Patrol, please fill out, sign and return this
Volunteer Application form (90kb PDF).