Prepares members in crime prevention, disaster planning, and emergency preparedness
By County Commissioner Bryan Nelson
The Orange County Citizen Corps is a special advisory board made up of citizens assigned by the County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners. The Citizen Corps was adopted on October 19, 2004 in an effort to train and educate Orange County citizens on crime prevention, disaster planning, and emergency preparedness.
The board is made up of nine members. One member is appointed by each of the district commissioners and three are appointed by the County Mayor. I was honored to have appointed Michelle Gomez Hinden as the District 2 representative. Each appointed member of the Citizen Corps serves a two year term.
The Citizen Corps consists of four unique programs designed to coordinate the efforts of volunteer citizens with the ultimate goal of making our local communities safer and better equipped to respond to the wide range of hazards affecting our county. The four programs are Citizens on Patrol (COPS), Community and Business Emergency Response Teams (CERT or BERT), Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and the Neighborhood Watch program. The Corps aims to match the needs of first responders with the appropriate skills and abilities provided by volunteers. Additionally, the group works to educate the public on safety and on important skills to protect themselves.
The Citizens on Patrol Program (COPS) is a non-confrontational program that was created to proactively reduce crime in the County through cooperation between residents and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. COPS are among the most visible and publically recognized components of the Orange County Citizen Corps. Volunteers within this program consist of trained civilians who provide help and assistance with official police business. This can include assistance with preparing police reports, checking local homes while residents are on vacation, providing bike patrols through community parks or patrolling shopping centers. Through doing so, these men and women provide a valuable public service that frees up police officer’s time, allowing them to focus more time and effort on major crimes. Additionally, volunteers are trained in first aid and CPR. Residents who wish to participate in the Patrol Program must first pass a screening process and complete the Volunteer Academy provided by the Sheriff’s Office.
The second Citizen Corps program, Community or Business Emergency Response Teams (CERT or BERT), is responsible for training and educating volunteer teams on how to assess disasters. The teams are educated on disaster preparedness and basic disaster response skills such as light search and rescue and fire safety. The Citizen Corps has also aids neighborhoods in developing Neighborhood Emergency Response Plan (NERP). The objective of the NERP is to ensure that homeowners, homeowner associations, and other neighborhood and community groups are prepared in the event of a man made or natural disaster.
The Medical Reserve Corp (MRC ) program coordinates the efforts of both practicing and retired physicians, nurses, and other health professionals that may be able to respond to medical emergencies in times of extended emergency situations. The last program is the Neighborhood Watch program which gives Orange County residents the power to better secure their communities by mitigating crime. Residents who participate in the Neighborhood Watch program are taught proper procedures in documenting and reporting suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. The Orange County Citizen Corps Council invites local citizens of all ages and abilities with an interest in building a safe community to volunteer in one or more crime prevention and disaster mitigation programs
Use this link to learn more about Orange County Citizen Corps and how to join. Questions can be directed to the Office of Emergency Management, which can be contacted at (407) 836-9140 or email them at ocoem@ocfl.net.
Bryan Nelson sits on the Orange County Board of Commissioners and Represents District 7 which includes Apopka and Northwest Orange County.
