CITIZENS ON PATROL

Irving Citizens on Patrol (ICOP’s) is a joint program between the Irving Police Department and volunteer citizens (an extension of our Neighborhood Watch Program). The program is designed to educate interested individuals to problems unique to their neighborhood, the City of Irving, and to assist in developing a community patrol group.  Members are taught to recognize suspicious or criminal activity and assist the police by actively patrolling their neighborhoods and reporting such activities. Their mission is strictly, non-contact, observation only. Irving Citizens on Patrol members are observers/reporters only and do not become physically involved or place themselves in dangerous situations.

In November 1997, members of the ICOP program received additional training and certification to begin issuing Disabled Parking Citations to violators.  Strict guidelines set forth by the State Transportation Code were followed, and the Irving City Council authorized Chief Cannaday to appoint this group of trained volunteers to help enforce this widely abused statute.  There was an initial group of six ICOPs trained to write citations and in the first month just under 100 citations were issued.  Subsequently, the remaining members of the ICOP program have been trained and are authorized to write handicap-parking citations.  This program continues to be a successful part of the police department’s enforcement efforts.

Participants of the ICOP program must be graduates of the Irving Citizen Police Academy and then selected to complete additional training which consists of four sessions, each with three hours of instruction.  The classes are not to train citizens to be police officers but rather to promote an increased awareness by citizens of the presence of common criminal activity, to enhance their recognition of criminal opportunity and provide an understanding of when, how, and why to report these.

In 2004, the ICOP program issued 260 handicap citations; volunteers average 177 hours and 1,384 miles per month.  This equates to an annual average of $15,629 worth of donated time and mileage and $65,000 of revenue from citations.

The first class graduated from training and began neighborhood patrol in October 1994. All citizens who possess a valid Texas Drivers License and meet entrance requirements are eligible to participate. For more information contact the Irving Citizens On Patrol Coordinator at (972) 721-3557.