BATH

Jim Gillies vividly recalls the first time he went to see Police Chief Pete Lizanecz, in 2001.

Chief Lizanecz had put out a newspaper advertisement, Gillies recalls, for the police department to rent motorcycles for its patrol officers. Gillies also was looking to rent a motorcycle, and saw the ad, which invited public comments.

Gillies didn’t think renting motorcycles for patrol officers was the best idea in the world, and went to tell Lizanecz. One topic led to another.

“The got me to volunteer for VIPS (Volunteers in Police Service),” Gillies recalled.

“He hasn’t complained since,” joked Lt. Robert Savary, who with Gillies and current Chief Michael Field, discussed the vital services VIPS provides for Bath PD. The Bath VIPS group, 10 strong but six of them “really active,” turned in 461 man hours for the department last year. At $30 an hour, Field figures, that’s about $13,000.

“They cover lots of events — many parades and races,” Field said. “And they all want to be downtown. It’s incredible help.”

The VIPS volunteers do all number of events, inside and outside the police department.

“You might find them in here doing paper work,” Gillies said. Mary Macul likes doing that, while Tom Pernia likes to do traffic work. Gillies, with a background in boats, helps the harbor master.

“I like working with the guys,” Gillies said. “I think it’s pretty important for people to be involved in their communities.”

Field pointed out that, while many volunteers in other endeavors might stay on for two or three years, most VIPS members have been doing this for upwards of a decade. Some have been here since 1995, when the name wasn’t even the same.

Each year, VIPS helped coordinate the annual Bath Safety Day, which this year falls on June 1. Gillies and Savary are looking for new members. Those interested should call Savary at 443-8339.

“There is a process,” Field advised. “There is an application process, and a background check.”

Savary and Gillies supervise the VIPS volunteers.

“We provide a minimal amount of training,” Savary said. “For the most part, they just want to go out and help make the community a safer place. I give them stuff to keep them busy. They really help us out quite a bit.”

“It’s trying to bring the community closer to the police, and the police closer to the community,” Gillies said.

lgrard@timesrecord.com

Volunteers in Police Service: What do they do?

Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) provides invaluable assistance to the Bath Police

Department, including: — Neighborhood radar speed watch. Two-member teams trained in the use of portable radar units record speeds and report the date, time and speed of a vehicle and, if needed, the license plate. — Neighborhood vacant house watch.

Two-member teams notify police of a vacant house while residents are away. They walk the perimeter of the house and check to see that doors and windows are locked and there are no visible signs of forced entry. Reports of each visit are kept and a resume is sent via letter to the owner on the stated date of return. — Juvenile resolution program. Several VIPS members trained by the

State Department of Corrections provide alternatives to first-time offenders to avoid the court system. The offender and the offended meet in a small community setting to discuss the offense, and come to a resolution, usually a financial responsibility. — Bath Safety Day. Each year, VIPS runs an event and invites the community to see many safety messages from police, Maine Fish and

Game, the Coast Guard, Bath Fire and Rescue, and Red Cross and Mid Coast Hospital. — Downtown American flags. The volunteers collect funds, purchase flags and brackets that go on lamp posts from Tate’s on Centre

Street up Front Street and north to the library store. Public works places the flags on holidays. — Shields of Hope. A weekend summer mentor program for youth. — Go Bags. Emergency equipment bags provided to elderly residents who are involved in

“Project Good Morning.”

— Sand buckets for the elderly. VIPS has gathered five-gallon buckets from The Home Depot and, when they get a request, fill the buckets with sand and deliver.

— Cool Kid Coupon. Police give coupons to a kid “caught in the act of doing a good deed,” which can be redeemed at a local ice cream store. Funded by

VIPS.

— Lock ‘R Up. Just prior to Christmas, 1,000 flyers are printed and placed on the windshields of parked cars, warning that Bath residents should be mindful that time of year to lock vehicles and prevent thefts in autos and at home. — Citizen Police Academy. When moneys permit, VIPS and police conduct an eight-week program for Bath residents, to educate them on the many activities involved in police work. — Awards. The Bath P.D. won an award from the National Sheriff’s Association in 2009, the

No. 1 National Award for the best Neighborhood Watch Program. Two officers were sent, all expenses paid, to the annual convention in

Ft. Lauderdale.