The Madera County Citizens on Patrol was formed in the year
2000 with the first group graduating from the citizen's academy in February. Our
first group consisted of 7 members in a sub-division called Madera Ranchos. A
retired patrol car was donated from another agency as well as an old amber
lightbar. Since that time the COP program has grown to include 5 areas of Madera
County, a boat patrol and a support vehicle.
The Madera County Sheriff's Department supplies the patrol vehicles and the
training, however the uniforms and maintenance of the vehicles comes from the
program members and community support. In it's first full year of operation the
COP's saved the County of Madera nearly $99,000 in wages and other expenditures.
Among the minimum standards for new members, COP's must submit a medical waiver
form signed by a physician and a completed health questionnaire. This helps
insure that members can handle patrol duties and helps the County in covering
the members with workers compensation.
COP's must complete at least 8 hours of patrol in their assigned areas. The
minimum age for membership is 18. Our COP program has also formed a non-profit
association to help with fund-raising.
