(a) Mission. Assistance shall be available under this article only to those citizen radio patrols whose primary mission is to make neighborhoods more secure from criminal acts by patrolling and reporting observations to the Police Department.
(b) Use of vehicles.
(1) Use of vehicles in patrolling shall not be a condition of assistance;
(2) Vehicles used for patrolling shall be in good mechanical condition; and
(3) Vehicles used in patrolling shall be insured in accordance with state law.
(c) Nonprofit corporation status; other financial limitations.
(1) To be eligible for assistance, patrols must be incorporated under state law as nonprofit corporations;
(2) Patrolling shall not be done for hire; and
(3) No salary shall be paid to any member, officer, or staff of a patrol.
(d) Licensing and regulations.
(1) Patrols shall hold any appropriate license necessary for operation in the name of the patrol or parent corporation; and
(2) Patrols shall comply with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations governing radio operations.
(e) Ties to community and other patrol membership qualifications.
(1) At least 80 percent of active patrol members shall be persons residing in or owning businesses in the regularly patrolled community,
(2) Patrols shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religious beliefs, color, sex, national origin, age, height, weight, familial status, marital status, disability, public
benefit status, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, in selecting members.
(3) Patrols shall not use property ownership or its equivalent as a condition of membership.
(4) A patrol may establish a minimum age of 18 years for patrol membership eligibility. Members under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian when operating a base station or when on street patrol duty.
(5) The Police Department shall run, upon the request of a patrol and with the consent of the applicant, a record check on an applicant for patrol membership.
(f) Identification.
(1) All patrols shall use a uniform, Citywide identification card to be developed by the administering agency and the patrols, a copy of which shall be furnished to the Police Department. Patrols shall issue such identification cards to their members and sample cards shall be filed with each police precinct where the patrols operate.
(2) Patrols shall file with each police precinct where they operate a complete listing of patrol personnel and vehicles.
(3) Prior to commencing patrol operations each day, patrols shall notify each police precinct where they intend to operate of the names and vehicle descriptions for units which will be operating in that precinct.
(4) No identification used, or uniforms worn, by patrol members shall resemble any identification used or uniform worn by police officers.
(g) Training. All patrol members shall be required to attend a Police Department orientation program prior to taking part in patrol operations. The Police Department may waive this condition and allow members of established patrols to train their own members.
(h) Patrol areas. Patrol boundaries shall be subject to Police Department approval.
(i) Patrol conduct rules.
(1) No patrol member, including those holding concealed weapon permits, shall carry any weapons on their person or in a patrol vehicle, including in the luggage compartment, during patrol operations. Prohibited weapons shall include, but not be limited to, guns of any type, knives, chains, clubs, tire irons and chemical dispensers, but shall not include a properly stowed standard jack handle, or, if participating in a recreation league, a baseball bat.
(2) Attack dogs shall not be carried in any patrol vehicle during patrol operations.
(3) During vehicle patrol operations, patrol members shall remain in their vehicles, except while performing Good Samaritan acts, or where exit from the vehicle is necessary lo protect or defend other persons against the threat of immediate bodily harm, provided, that this subsection does not impose a duty on patrol members to leave their vehicles under any circumstances.
(4) While on patrol, members shall not conduct interrogations of persons suspected of criminal activity.
(5) No patrol member shall attempt, during patrol operations, to make any citizen’s arrest except in the course of protecting or defending other persons against the threat of immediate bodily harm, provided, that this subsection shall not be construed to impose a duty on patrol members to make a citizen’s arrest under any circumstances.
(6) No emergency signaling lights or other signaling devices, for example, amber flashing lights or sirens, may be in operation in or on a moving patrol vehicle during patrol operations. This prohibition shall not include the standard factory installed flasher system or its equivalent.
(7) Patrol members shall not be present at the scene of police criminal investigations or apprehension efforts except where they have relevant information to furnish. When present for that purpose, no other involvement shall be undertaken.
(8) Patrol members shall not consume or be under the influence of illegal drugs, alcoholic liquor, or narcotic medication while on patrol duty.
(9) Patrol members who are off-duty police officers shall be exempt from these rules and all other conditions of assistance to the extent of any conflict with Police Department regulations.
(j) Accountability for and disposition of equipment purchased or repaired with City assistance.
(1) The City shall hold title to any equipment purchased pursuant to this article and all citizen patrols shall be accountable to the City for such equipment;
(2) Patrols shall secure from any member who has such member’s radio, or bicycle, repaired or upgraded in whole or in part with City assistance funds pursuant to this article an agreement that, if such member should cease to be an active patrol member for any reason within a three-month period following the completion of repairs or upgrading, such member shall be liable to the patrol for the City’s share of the repair or upgrade costs;
(3) Any patrol, which ceases active patrol operations or is dissolved after receiving City assistance, shall deliver possession of any equipment purchased in whole or in part with City assistance funds to the administering agency or an agency designated by the administering agency to dispose of such equipment; and
(4) Any equipment purchased with City assistance funds, which is determined by a patrol to be unserviceable, may be sold by the City for fair market value. The proceeds of any such sale shall be used to purchase new citizen radios and equipment reasonably necessary for patrol operations.
(k) Additional conditions. Patrols shall be subject to such additional eligibility conditions by the administering agency as circumstances warrant.
(l) Applications for assistance and keeping records.
(1) Patrols shall provide all requested information with applications for assistance. Any deliberate falsification of material information shall result in automatic termination of assistance and ineligibility for future assistance;
(2) Patrols shall maintain records to support information contained in their applications for assistance and to account for the use and disposition of equipment purchased, repaired, or upgraded in whole or in part with City assistance funds; and
(3) Patrols shall provide, when initially applying for assistance and annually at the beginning of each fiscal year, a report to the administering agency, which delineates all radio equipment in their possession, that was bought with City assistance funds and that was obtained from other sources.
Codified by Ord. No. 28-19 (JCC 7/23/2019, Passed 9/10/2019, Approved 9/11/2019, Published 9/20/2019, Effective 10/1/2019); Amended by Ord. No. 2021-30 (JCC 6/29/2021, Passed 7/27/2021, Approved 8/2/2021, Published 10/19/2021, Effective 10/19/2021).