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Community service jobs mean just that photo by Drew Fleming CSOs log evidence, patrol parks, spend time at schools By Joanna Collins We see them every day, patrolling schools, parks and streets. They dust for fingerprints, track down frauds and keep kids from loitering. They�re not "real" cops. But if that�s the case, what�s the deal with the uniform and radios? They�re community service officers, hired by police departments to help lessen everyday loads for fully trained officers. They don�t have the authority to make arrests or handle serious crimes, but they�re still trained in many areas of policing. CSOs deal with everything from littering to drinking in public. They might keep kids from smoking on lunch breaks, deliver subpoenas or write up parking tickets. Some want to be real cops eventually, others don�t. They range from college students to retirees, and a pay check isn�t always part of the deal. "The whole point of having CSOs is for them to handle those non-emergent, non-criminal types of assignments and allow our officers to concentrate on the police end of their work," says Medford Lt. Tim George. The three CSOs in Ashland are a big asset to the police department, says Lt. Rich Walsh. They log evidence, patrol the park and work on non-criminal cases. "They do a lot of jobs that are very essential that the officers don�t have time for," says Walsh. Twenty-year-old Arturo Vega, one of five full-time CSOs in Medford, works in the detective division. "Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be a police officer," he says. While he was a student at North Medford High School, Vega volunteered for the police department through Explorers, a Boy Scouts program that assists with security at parades and other events. His senior project was with the K9 unit. He calls it "lucky" that he was hired straight out of high school as a part-time CSO. Still too young to apply as a police officer (age requirement is 21), Vega sees this as a great opportunity to gain experience. Twelve of Medford�s 94 police officers were previously CSOs at the department. "We get to see how they do their job from the inside," says Vega. He spends his mornings coordinating reports to go to the district attorney in time for court and his afternoons tracking down bad checks. As the only bilingual person in the division, he is often called out to translate Spanish in cases ranging from simple arrests to murder investigations. "The way I look at it is like I�m a tool for the department," says Vega. Keith Ostrander, one of nine part-time CSOs and a evidence technician for Medford, doesn�t desire to be an officer. It�s the forensics part that he enjoys. Ostrander also works at the Oregon State Police crime lab in Central Point, which serves many Southern Oregon police agencies. Twenty hours a week, he�s on Medford�s clock, looking for the small clues that can solve a case in seconds. He visits crime scenes to gather evidence or tests items collected by police officers � anything from meat cleavers to Back Street Boys trading cards � for fingerprints. "I don�t actually get lumped in with the CSOs," Ostrander admits. But George says Ostrander�s knowledge of collecting evidence is beneficial to police who may not be familiar with all the lab�s services. "We�d be foolish not to take advantage of him," says George. On the more traditional side of CSOs is Josh Clark, whose full-time beat is North Medford High School and the surrounding streets. He patrols problem areas during lunch time and tries to keep underage smoking at bay. "We�re here for a purpose, to protect them and enforce the things they shouldn�t be doing," says Clark. Clark, who decided to become a CSO on a whim five years ago, already has applied to the long waiting list at Medford. "I like the job�s diversity," says Clark. "You�re never doing the same thing every day." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA