Feb. 22--Fellow citizens, dressed in khakis and polo shirts, soon could be writing tickets in downtown Paducah for those who abuse the two-hour time limit for parking.Police hope the use of volunteers for parking enforcement frees up officers to investigate higher-priority crimes while alleviating some serious parking concerns, mainly on Broadway.

Eventually, the department may further utilize the public's help by assigning volunteers other duties usually reserved for uniformed officers.The program is called VIPS -- Volunteers in Police Service -- and it began being utilized by police nationally as a Homeland Security initiative after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.In Paducah, the extent to which it's been used has been putting volunteers into the Kentucky Oaks Mall during the holidays and having them assist in managing traffic during large downtown activities, such as the warm weather weekly Downtown After Dinner program.Sgt. J.P. Roberts is in charge of Paducah's Citizen's Police Academy (CPA), an 11-week training course that feeds the VIPS program with its graduates. VIPS is slowly growing and consists of 85 people now. Members meet once a month and, until now, have held minor roles such as setting up traffic barricades and monitoring large crowds for problems.Roberts said VIPS members could be carrying citation books and walking the streets as early as April 1.Last week, during a Paducah Main Street merchants meeting, Director Carol Gault distributed a letter from Police Chief Randy Bratton. It mentions the VIPS program and the placement of Roberts into permanent site in a downtown building, where he can monitor the area and all VIPS members.

An officer previously was assigned to downtown beat, but because of department turnover, that position was needed elsewhere. Roberts said he went back to street patrols after his first stint in the office, located next to the Columbia and Arcade theaters.He started moving back in last week and finished unpacking Tuesday.His first order of business will be getting to know the merchants and to find out what their concerns are.For merchants such as Lisa Dunn, owner of Trendy Repeats, parking is one of her biggest problems. Despite the city's actions last year, when it raised parking ticket fines from $5 to $25, she says the problem hasn't gotten any better because no one was downtown to enforce the law.She is both hopeful and skeptical about civilians writing tickets. Her father is a retired St. Louis policeman, and she said he raised good points about safety."A lot of times, when you give people a ticket, they get upset," she said. "What if they get beat up. ... Is the city going to take responsibility for that? "I'm anxious to see how it's going to work out. ... You've got private citizens doing" police work, and safety is an issue.Roberts said the citizens won't be armed. They will, however, carry radios and will be encouraged to call police if people become confrontational or even if a person cited needs further explanation as to why he or she is receiving a ticket."Most people may not take a ticket from a VIPS as serious as they would from a police officer," Dunn said. "Maybe bringing back the meter maids would be a better option."Roberts said the citizens have been and will be trained in avoiding confrontational situations. He also noted that their efforts are voluntary, and the city won't have to pay like it used to when a parking officer worked downtown alone."They aren't the parking ticket Nazis," Roberts said. "Parking is a serious problem."According to a VIPS training tape, some cities utilize the volunteers much more extensively. They even rely on them for assistance in computer programing or animal control.

"Right now, for us, it's baby steps," Roberts said. "Having them out there is huge. ... Would I like to do some of the other things? You betcha."They should even help when tourism picks up, particularly in the summer, when out-of-towners are looking for someone to help them find their way.Filling the program will be done through word of mouth and by promoting the CPA course, Roberts said."It's a strong volunteer organization that's ready to help the police department," he said. "We could probably eliminate a lot of crime if more people got involved." It was an interest in her community and curiosity about police that got Maredith Morris involved. She took the CPA course more than two years ago, the fourth time it had been offered. Roberts is about to start the ninth session. Now, Morris is president of the CPA Alumni Association, and she helps direct people downtown during summer festivals or activities such as Barbecue on the River."If you go through the CPA class, you see what the (officers) go through," she said. "I have a whole new respect for the police department."

Morris said the VIPS program is simply "a work in progress." She echoed Roberts' comments about freeing up police for more pressing work such as investigations."It gives us an opportunity to help the police department," she said.For more information about the CPA or VIPS programs, contact the police department at 444-8548.

Coming to a congested intersection near you: citizens on patrol.

County supervisors have agreed to allow the police department to deputize ordinary Fairfax residents to direct traffic on neighborhood roads and at intersections across the county. Called the Volunteer Traffic Control Program, the plan is aimed at easing the workload on a strained police agency as it simultaneously tries to solve a spate of gang violence and address homeland security issues on top of its usual law enforcement duties, program coordinators said.

"For us, it's more of a force multiplier," said police Capt. Dennis Wilson, commander of the Sully District substation, which is organizing the first team of volunteers. "It's a prime example of how the community and the police can come together and resolve an issue of mutual concern."

The program is also a sign of how bad traffic is these days: Now the county is turning to its own residents to manage congestion.

"Anytime you go out to a community meeting and the first three questions you've been hit with are not traffic-related, then you've been inadvertently teleported to Halifax," Nova Scotia, said Supervisor T. Dana Kauffman (D-Lee). "Especially because we are dealing with more issues such as gangs, the more we can use an auxiliary police force, the more we can leverage the existing resources we have."

The unpaid auxiliary traffic cops, who could hit the county's clogged streets as early as this month, will wear an orange police cap and a high-visibility vest marked with "TRAFFIC CONTROL." They will be issued police whistles -- but no firearms, and only those older than 18 can apply. They will not have authority to issue traffic tickets, but the citizen patrols can take down offending drivers' license plate numbers and file a report with their superiors. Major intersections, such as those in Tysons Corner, will continue to be patrolled by regular, paid Fairfax police officers.

Wilson said the volunteer force could be a vital resource during times of emergency or disaster. He pointed out that the department needed trained volunteers to direct traffic when Hurricane Isabel struck the area last fall.

"We lost so much power, and we had traffic lights out all over," he said. "A lot of issues could have been resolved if we could have called on these folks to assist us on that traffic control."

The idea for the program was sparked by the congestion caused by the thousands of parishioners who attend Mass at St. Timothy in Chantilly. Every Sunday afternoon, the backups before and after services extended down Poplar Tree Road, spilling over onto Stringfellow Road.

Neighbors and church leaders hatched a plan to direct cars themselves. It was a bright idea, except that it was illegal, recounted Byron Beall of Centreville, a parishioner who helped with the church's traffic control.

Beall approached Wilson about changing the law. Inspired by a similar program in Stafford County, Wilson, Beall and several others spent the next 13 months lobbying the county staff to revise the county code to allow the creation of a volunteer force.

At its May 24 meeting, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the change.

Beall is among the first dozen volunteers to sign up for the program, which requires that they undergo a full criminal background check.

On June 19, he will attend an eight-hour class to learn the rules of traffic direction. He said he wanted to do it as a community service.

"We have one of the best police departments in the country," he added. "It is like a surgeon, and [traffic on neighborhood roads] is like going to a surgeon's office because you need a band-aid. Well, we're here to be the band-aid." <