“EVIL FLOURISHES WHEN GOOD MEN DO NOTHING!” This was a phrase that Captain Joe Crutchfield of the Beaumont Police Department carried in his billfold for over 32 years of service – and one that he would use often.
In the late summer of 1994, Buddy Hebert, a member of the South Park Neighborhood Association, made a trip to Plano, Texas. While there he read an article in the Dallas newspaper about the Citizens on Patrol program and the success it had patrolling the various neighborhoods of Dallas and the surrounding areas.
Buddy brought the newspaper back to Captain Crutchfield in order for him and Lt. Mike Manning to read through the article. Both thought it sounded like a very good idea, and they immediately began contacting the Dallas Police Department as well as other cities with this Community Policing program in their area.
After obtaining much information about the program, Captain Crutchfield called Buddy Hebert and asked if he would be willing to help with a pilot plan for Beaumont. Four of the existing Neighborhood Associations were contacted and asked for members to assist in working out the details of the C.O.P. Program. The A.C.O.R.N. Association, Old Town Association, Tyrell Park Association, and the South Park Neighborhood Association all participated. Each submitted names of two of their members to work with the program, and in January 1995 these members began the task of working out the C.O.P. program.
The Committee was formed, and Officers were elected – with Buddy Hebert acting as Chairman, then an interim period with David Bradley as Chairman, before the position was returned again to Buddy. This committee met for 3 months with Captain Crutchfield and Lt. Manning and together the group worked out the Rules and Regulations, By-Laws, Objectives, Patrol Procedures and the Rules of Conduct for the Program.
This Committee then began a training program with Captain Crutchfield and Lt. Manning, as well as other police officers with the department. This included riding with various officers who instructed them on specific things they could watch for to help the police – acting as their eyes and ears.
After the completion of the Board’s training, Captain Crutchfield asked for more volunteers from each of the four neighborhood associations that would be willing to attend training sessions and become the first Citizens on Patrol in Beaumont. Two training sessions were held to teach these volunteers the basic procedures of patrolling their neighborhoods.
On June 2, 1995, Dedication Services for the Citizens on Patrol were held at the City Hall in Beaumont, with then Mayor David Moore conducting the ceremony and thanking the volunteers for their service to the City. Equipment which had been donated by several individuals and organizations was handed out to the patrollers, which consisted of cellular phones hooked up to 911 only, magnetic signs for the sides of their vehicles, flashlights, binoculars, clipboards, identification badges, and T-shirts with the Citizens on Patrol emblem. Thus began the first official patrol of the Citizens of Patrol in Beaumont, with 32 individual patrollers taking to the streets of their neighborhoods.
After three months of patrolling the various neighborhoods, the program was deemed to be a success, and other Neighborhood Associations were asked to join the ranks. A total of six classes were held, with 105 Volunteers patrolling seven neighborhoods of Beaumont.
Since its inception, numerous classes have been held for volunteers to patrol.
