The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office swore in 18 new Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers on Nov. 4 in Snowflake to a packed house. In addition, three volunteers were sworn in by Chief Dan Barnes from Pinetop/Lakeside Police Department and one volunteer from Show Low Police Department. Each graduate was given their diploma for going through a 52 hour, one-month long volunteer law enforcement academy that included tactical driving, laws, protocol, radio communication, search and rescues, and more. A total of 27 classes were covered in the academy. The Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers of Navajo County, (SAV’s) have almost 100 volunteers that cover 10,000 square miles of the county. Of that, four units with up to 30 people each cover community services and house watches in their immediate areas. In addition, these four units also cover requests for assistance on Native American reservations, other agencies and chambers of commerce within Navajo County. Volunteers serve in the very communities they live in. For the Sheriff’s Auxiliary, it is much more than just doing house watch services. The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office’s Auxiliary program has vastly expanded their ability to serve, by including all types of community assistance from welfare checks, traffic control, crime scene security, transporting NCSO vehicles and equipment, guarding, and providing first aid stations for events, A.L.E.R.T. (Animal Livestock Emergency Response Team) and much more. They also provide aid to the Navajo County courts as well as inmate transportation for deputies working in the field. The diversity of people that make up the entire organization of NCSO volunteers also include working individuals, couples, professionals, with 31% of their total membership in a former law enforcement/military capacity of some kind. The total membership that serves, provides approximately half a million dollars in volunteer labor hours for the Navajo County. Navajo County Sheriff’s Auxiliary also offers a youth program: Junior SAV’s, which are youth ages 13 to 18. They learn and train on various topics such as search and rescue, fingerprinting, detective work as well as drone flying. All are mostly instructed by active duty law enforcement deputies. These youth are also provided the same academy as the regular auxiliary and graduate along with the adults. “It is an important part of serving the community, that we provide a way to train and prepare our youth for adulthood,” said Sheriff’s Auxiliary Captain and President Wong. “By giving the youth a positive avenue in which to take, not only are we increasing the pool of potential law enforcement candidates, we are teaching leadership, and volunteerism to these individuals that are the future of our country.” For the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers of Navajo County, the only financial aid the SAV’s receive, is the generous donations provided by the residents and businesses within the county. To help subsidize their need for revenue, the SAV’s also host special events throughout the year, raising money for its 501(c)(3) organization. These funds provide the ability to maintain basic operations for the youth program, community outreach and safety programs for the county under the direction of the Sheriff. To put a recruit through academy, up to and including graduation, the costs is over $275 per person. The positive end result of a trained law enforcement volunteer far outweighs the cost but the reality remains, that without the aid of the county’s residents and businesses, the SAV’s are at risk of not being able to properly operate. This will be the first year that the Auxiliary will be hosting fundraising events of their own in conjunction with other organizations. To learn more about the Sheriff’s Auxiliary or to apply, go to www.SAVofNC.org.
