Buckhannon VIPS celebrates 5 years of service to the community!

October 23, 2019

The Buckhannon City Police Volunteers In Police Service (VIPS) unit celebrated its fifth anniversary, Thursday, October 23, 2019. Although we have been around for five years, you still may not be familiar with our program.

Our VIPS program allows community members to volunteer their time by assisting our city police officers with various tasks. We assist with traffic and crowd management for events, emergency traffic control, missing persons searches, perimeter security for incidents, public relations in the community and schools, investigations, and other administrative tasks. Our ability to help with these tasks allows the officers to concentrate on more immediate and emergent situations.

All our VIPS members receive training through the police department such as: First Aid / CPR / AED, Community Emergency Response Training (CERT), Citizens Police Academy, Traffic and Crowd Management, Ethics, and various National Incident Management System (NIMS) courses offered through FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration). These required training courses are all taught in house with our own instructors.

Over the past five years, VIPS members have volunteered more than 7500 hours and helped with over 500 events in our area! We have welcomed over 40 community members and college students into our VIPS program since 2014, with 12 volunteers currently active. We even have three of the original five founding members still actively volunteering with VIPS!

Interested in becoming a VIPS member? There are a few requirements you will need to meet prior to submitting an application. Are you:

1. Over the age of 18?
2. Able to pass a background check?
3. Willing to volunteer at least eight (8) hours per month?
4. Willing to attend at least one (1) meeting per month?
5. Willing to help better our community?
6. Willing to wear a cool uniform?

If you can answer yes to all these questions, we would love to have you in the VIPS program. If you would like more information about our local VIPS program, please visit our Facebook page at

http://www.facebook.com/BuckhannonVIPS, check out our page on the Buckhannon Volunteer Center, or email us at vips@buckhannonpolice.com.

When you are ready to apply, simply stop by the Buckhannon City Police station or visit the department’s website at www.buckhannonpolice.com or the Buckhannon Volunteer Center to get an application for membership. Once completed, drop it back off at the station or mail it to: Buckhannon VIPS, 24 South Florida Street, Buckhannon WV 26201.