ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — 72-year-old Allan Roberts has lived a busy life.
"I had been a very active employee for a company. I worked numerous hours," said Roberts.
But something was always missing.
"I never really had time to help my community. I thought it was time to pay back. I wanted to do that," said Roberts.
Roberts is now a volunteer for the Oro Valley Police Department. He describes himself as the eyes and ears of the community. He, and 69 other volunteers, patrol neighborhoods and areas of town where officers can't always be.
"They do a lot of different things for us. They have radios to help out patrol when it's needed, any kind of traffic issues and they'll report stuff that they see. It also gives an approachable thing for community members to use when they see them," said Oro Valley Police Department Sergeant, Marshall Morris.
The Citizen Volunteer Assistant Program (CVAP) has been a success in Oro Valley since 1998.
"We've had over 300 volunteers go through the program in that time frame. I still have a volunteer that's currently active with us that's been in the program for 23 years now," said Morris.
After completing training, volunteers go out in pairs during daylight hours. Carolita Strickland has been with the CVAP program for four years.
"We're ambassadors and that's what we try to be," said Strickland.
It's connecting with the community that she, and her partners, enjoy the most.
"We're all about community policing. That's getting the community involved and just being out in the community," said Strickland.
"I have created 40 or 50 friends. I moved out here with no friends. That's been a good thing," said Roberts.
To learn more about Oro Valley Police Department's CVAP program, click here.
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