Flagler Sheriff’s Office Calling For Volunteers to Beef Up Its Citizens Observer Patrol (COP)

Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre is looking to expand the Citizens Observer Patrol, known as COP, to increase its corps of 52 volunteers. The Sheriff’s Office is also looking for donations of boats to improve its marine patrol division.

“We would like to get our volunteers involved with our Marine Unit and Crime Scene Investigation Unit,” said Sheriff James L. Manfre. “Our volunteers are a valuable asset to our community and we would like to get them even more involved in our daily operations.”

COP is an auxiliary atm of the Sheriff’s Office. Its mission is to help to make Flagler County and Palm Coast neighborhoods as safe and secure as possible. The C.O.P.’s report all suspicious activity to the Sheriff’s Office and aid deputies in traffic control and accidents, parades, funeral escorts and other special details, thus lightening the burden on deputies by doing work that does not need the presence of a sworn officer.

At the Palm Coast Precinct at City Marketplace, the COPs’ duties consist of fingerprinting, passing out information and gun licensing permits, filling requests for vacation house watches, preparing accident reports and many other services provided to the community.

COP volunteers do not, however, have law enforcement and arresting powers–they may not pull a car over, for example, ask an individual to see his papers, set chase in a suspicious incident or exercise any authority beyond, say, traffic control. Nor are they authorized to carry weapons.

All new COPs go through 40 hours of training, which consists of both classroom and hands-on instruction. Since 2005, Flagler County COP volunteers have worked approximately 260,000 hours, saving the county about $4.8 million.

For more information about the COP program, or if you are interested in donating a boat, contact Sr. Commander Mark Carman at 386/586-2627 or by email at [email protected].