When police officers, communities, and great relationships come together, the results can be transformative. In New Jersey’s highly-diverse Capital City, where people from all walks of life long for a better and brighter future, the Trenton Civic Trust is working in tandem with the Trenton Police Department to launch a joint initiative to recruit a volunteer auxiliary police force to improve police and community relations.
Trenton Civic Trustees have won adoption of an Auxiliary Police Force in Trenton and are now working with the City to recruit applicants from Trenton’s neighborhoods as a component of increasing public safety through implementing a comprehensive mutual respect policy between police and the community. Comprised of highly trained, dedicated volunteer Trenton residents, the Trenton Auxiliary Police Force will serve as a vital link between the police and the community.
Under the leadership of new Police Director Sheilah Coley, the initiative aims to provide significant support to the city’s police force without replacing the functions of those full time officers. To prepare for this role, volunteers go through free public safety and security training and ongoing field training. It’s a great opportunity for those looking to eventually pursue a career in public safety or for those who simply want to be a part of a coordinated effort to improve the community.
Auxiliary Police candidates must complete up to 150 hours of Police Academy training, typically comprising of two weeknights and a Saturday training for a period 16 weeks, to officially become Trenton Auxiliary Police Officers. The benefits they provide stem both from their role in emergency response as well as the additional support they can provide during their field training.
During declared emergencies, auxiliaries are an effective and valuable resource. They perform low-risk functions such as assisting senior citizens and other vulnerable members of the community during electrical outages or during serious storms and extreme weather events. They can help perform crowd control in case of civil disturbance or assist in missing person searches, among other emergency functions.
To prepare for emergencies, auxiliary police officers undergo continuous field training throughout their time as an acting auxiliary police officer. During this training they provide additional assistance and benefits to the police force and the community including enhancing community-police relations as well as increasing uniformed police presence. As community members who are integrated into the police department, they help maintain a relationship of trust and cooperation between community and police, and also provide a valuable link to, and knowledge of, the community that helps enforcement of public safety.
If you are interested in becoming a Trenton Auxiliary Police Officer, please fill out the questionnaire form by clicking on the link below. This is a preliminary form that is used to collect information of those who are interested in becoming an Auxiliary Police officer.
Click here to see the Urban Auxiliary Police Operating Manual. For more information on the Trenton Auxiliary Police Initiative, please contact Joel Rosa via email at Joel@thecitizenscampaign.org
