Police CSO Touts Coming Benefits For Colorado Springs

Amid the recent discussion about Colorado Springs hiring civilian police officers for the first time, is the fact that two such officers already have been serving in that capacity, thanks from federal funds in a pilot program.

William McAllister is one of the two officers, also known as community service officers. He said the title is often confused for a lawbreaker who does community projects as part of a jail sentence. However, he said, the purpose of a CSO is to ease the workload on the city’s 620 regular police officers.

McAllister, who came to Colorado Springs after a law enforcement career in Washington, D.C., said that a CSO earns less than a regular officer and doesn’t carry a weapon or make arrests. Instead, he said, a CSO responds to burglaries, accident scenes and other low-priority calls so that regular officers can better respond to more serious calls.

“By running out to get a video tape instead of an officer, to submit it into evidence; we can do stuff like that,” said McAllister.

Many residents have expressed frustration with police after a policy change several years ago. The change limited officers to responding only to the most serious calls — such as when lives or property are threatened, when a crime is in progress, or a known suspect exists. Police considered the change to be the best use of limited resources.

The CSO concept was introduced last fall by then-interim Police Chief Pete Carey. The police department expects to hold the first CSO academies in April and June to graduate two full-time and 16 part-time CSO’s. The department said the current duty schedule of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. will expand to 10 p.m. once the graduates begin working.

McAllister said in the future, CSO’s will provide services that were discontinued by regular officers due to budget cuts — such as confirming vehicle registration numbers and conducting checks for child safety seats. However, he said current duties such as filing reports in ID theft and fraud cases will end once the new CSO’s arrive.

CSO’s are identified by wearing lime-green shirts and driving patrol vehicles with green lettering. Currently, CSO’s are authorized to issue parking citations and also can perform evidence-gathering such as fingerprint dusting and photography.