With SUV donation, Interfaith gives C.O.P. early Christmas gift
Vehicle to help volunteers patrol streets
Interfaith Neighbors made Christmas come a few days early this year with the gift of a 2013 Ford Explorer to Citizens On Patrol [COP].
The $24,000 vehicle joins COP’s two former police cars, one of which is in severe disrepair. It is the first brand new vehicle COP has ever received. Interfaith purchased it with help from the neighborhood revitalization tax credit [NRTC].
Vehicles are one of the biggest expenses of the police department, so it takes a while for a cop car to get passed down to COP, Police Chief Mark Kinmon said today.
“To be able to work together and get them a brand new car like this is good for us,” he said.
COP is an all-volunteer branch of the police department. Its 15 members patrol the streets to increase police presence several times a week. The organization has helped the department to strengthen its ties with the community, Kinmon said.
COP provides extra security at special events and events at the schools, as well as traffic patrol and “any other jobs the police would like for us to do,” said Lawson June, head of COP. During patrols, COP members call in any suspicious activity to the police department.
June hopes to get more volunteers out on the street with the addition of another vehicle. When COP began in 2003, its volunters patrolled the city on foot.
Anyone interested in joining COP can contact Patrolman Michael Casey at 732-775-6124. Volunteers go through a once-weekly academy for about eight weeks before starting to patrol.
