Volunteers hit the streets to enforce parking rules

Karen Zekan

Friday, June 12, 1998 | 11:18 a.m.

Those contemplating a short cut to the store by parking in a front-row handicapped spot beware: the enforcers are coming.

Beginning July 1, Metro Police's first class of 19 volunteer handicapped parking monitors will be hitting the streets, looking for anyone illegally parked in handicapped spots and citing violators with $100 fines.

Sheriff Jerry Keller was scheduled to preside over today's 3:30 p.m. graduation ceremony at the training bureau where the first class of volunteer monitors recently underwent instruction.

A large pool of applicants were whittled down to the 19 classmates who passed Metro's background checks, an oral board screening and two eight-hour days of training conducted by city parking enforcement officials, Metro's communications personnel and Metro traffic officers.

"These are not vigilantes or aggressive people," stressed Larry Baxter from Metro's Volunteer Program. "They are very professional and will be working in a very structured, supervised environment. They will be doing their jobs by the letter of the law."

Each has been given a call sign which they will use to identify themselves to dispatchers when logging on and off duty, as well as with communications in the field.

The class will be divided up between Metro's five substations, with the northwest area command receiving the most because of the larger number of handicapped spots there. Monitors will be supervised by a Metro officer at each substation.

Their uniforms include a dark blue polo shirt emblazoned with "MVP" -- Metro Volunteer Program -- on the left breast, a blue ball cap and a canary yellow MVP vest.

Assembly Bill 7, introduced by Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, and signed into law last April, permits sheriffs and chiefs of police to train and empower citizens with limited law enforcement powers -- in this case, by writing parking citations.

Volunteers' safety has been Metro's greatest concern in organizing the program, envisioning confrontational types who might fight a ticket. As a result, training included learning "verbal judo," described by Baxter as the art of calming an irate person with words.

The monitors are one of about 40 volunteer capacities in which citizens are working for the department, including those already assisting out at the gun range and in bureaus like criminalistics and training.

Metro's volunteer ranks have swelled to more than 200, Baxter said. "They are people who want to be part of the solution."