El Paso Co. Sheriff’s Office launches new Community Service Specialist Unit

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPCSO) has launched a Community Service Specialist Unit (CSS) " in an effort to enhance our level of service to the approximately 200,000 citizens who reside and work in unincorporated El Paso County and the countless others who commute through our jurisdiction each day."

According to the EPCSO, the CSS Unit is comprised of uniformed civilian personnel who respond to calls for service that come in to the Communications Center that are not in progress and do not involve injuries to involved persons.  

The types of calls for service the CSS Unit will respond to include, Motor Vehicle Theft, Burglary, Trespass into a vehicle or onto property, Theft, Identify Theft/Fraud, Criminal Mischief, Lost/Found Property, Abandoned Vehicles, and Traffic Control for accident scenes or other hazards.

The EPCSO said the CSS Unit does not have arrest authority but will file criminal investigation reports, collect evidence, and support sworn personnel in various other ways.

The training for the CSS Unit was more than 140 hours and covered Colorado state statutes, EPCSO policies and procedures, report writing, interviewing, and criminal investigation.  Additionally, the candidates were certified to carry pepper spray and received self-defense training. They were also certified in the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training. The initial 140 hours of training were then enhanced with six weeks of field training during which the candidates were taught and coached by a sworn patrol deputy.

The EPCSO said they believe  the CSS Unit will be a valuable force multiplier for our Patrol Division, allowing our deputies to spend more time engaged in proactive community policing by being mobile and visible in and around the state's most populated county and by easing the burden non-emergent calls for service place on our sworn deputies' ability to provide timely response to emergency situations.