Duluth police weigh volunteer patrol programs, launch community survey

Duluth police are testing whether residents want to step into two volunteer roles that could put more eyes on city streets and free sworn officers for higher-priority calls.

The City of Duluth said April 9 that the Police Department launched an open survey to gauge interest in reviving a Police Reserve program and a Neighborhood Citizen Patrol program. The survey remains open through Thursday, April 30, and officials said the response total will help determine whether there is enough support to create one or both volunteer opportunities.

Chief Mike Ceynowa called the survey “the first step” in evaluating the programs. Mayor Roger Reinert said residents often ask, “How can I help?” and suggested the volunteer programs could free up sworn officers to focus on other public safety calls.

Under the city’s description, the Police Reserve program would supplement department operations with traffic control, work at community events, foot patrols and other duties as needed. The Neighborhood Citizen Patrol would be a volunteer, community-based “eyes and ears” group that observes and reports suspicious activity, supports crime prevention and may include neighborhood watches or organized patrols.

The proposal comes as Duluth continues to frame public safety around staffing and deployment. The Police Department says it is the third-largest municipal police department in Minnesota and has an authorized strength of 158 officers. City officials also pointed to the department’s community officer structure, which handles non-emergency neighborhood issues, as part of the existing network of services that the volunteer programs would add to rather than replace.

That distinction matters because the city is not simply asking whether residents like the idea of volunteer patrols. It is trying to determine whether enough people would commit time and training to make them useful in practice. If the programs return, city leaders will still have to show how they would be supervised, what duties volunteers could actually perform and whether the added help would measurably change response times, patrol visibility or neighborhood complaints.

Dan Hanger reported the details for FOX 21 Online, and the city’s notice adds that the department will review both the survey responses and the volume of interest before deciding whether to move ahead. For Duluth, the question is no longer whether residents are willing to help. It is whether volunteer patrols can do enough to matter in a department that already says it is managing 158 authorized officers across the city.