After a year of coordination and planning, the ASU Police department is opening its station to volunteers for the first time.
The department is seeking volunteers to fill about 20 positions, Assistant Chief Jay Spradling said.
The station is hosting an open house for interested volunteers at 2 p.m. each afternoon this week.
“The jobs are in virtually every area you can think of,” Spradling said. “Our policy is that there aren’t many areas of the department we wouldn’t put volunteers in.”
Spradling cited several volunteers for Tempe police who had higher security clearance than he did because of their backgrounds with the military or CIA.
“The jobs are matched to the volunteer, and what job [you get] depends on what kind of clearance you need,” Spradling said.
All applicants are subject to a background check and a polygraph test. Though direct information will be available at the ASU Tempe police station, all campus departments are looking for volunteers.
The department is specifically looking for volunteers in records, communication, investigations, photography, crime prevention, fleet and bike management and the emergency operations center, Spradling said.
Doris Cornett, 81, of Tempe, is coordinating the volunteer program after volunteering with the Tempe police department for more than 20 years.
“[As a Tempe volunteer] I met all the officers on street corners, hospitals and houses where there had been a tragedy,” Cornett said. “I have known Jay [Spradling] since he was a rookie officer at [the] Tempe [police department.]”
Because of this longtime relationship, Cornett said it seemed like the next logical move to step up and start a volunteer program for ASU.
“I just love working with the police,” she said.
Spradling said he hopes to eventually offer internships to students studying non-profit management or criminal justice through partnership with the College of Public Programs and College of Human Services.
“The door is open to all walks of life,” he said. “I don’t ever foresee capping [the number of volunteers] in any way.”
College students are a target group for the station. Spradling said the volunteer program could even lead to internships in the future.
“I’ve always felt that if you treat volunteers in the same way as employees, you not only get better volunteers but they work harder and stay with the station longer,” Spradling said.
The program is flexible, Cornett said, so some volunteers can take jobs on campuses other than Tempe or work with another person to complete one job.
“I know a lot of people are interested in making ASU a better place,” Cornett said. “There is always room in crime prevention. Always.”
Reach the reporter at tessa.muggeridge@asu.edu.
