Today, concerns over homeland security have led thousands of Americans to volunteer for various citizen emergency response groups, such as the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Community Emergency Response Teams, fire units, etc. In Citizens Defending America, Martin Greenberg focuses new attention on the subject of citizen volunteerism by chronicling the nature and purpose of volunteer police units authorized organizations of a public or private nature that work at deterring crime and/or preventing terrorism for little or no monetary compensation in America since 1620. A...

Martin Alan Greenberg explores the origins of the two major types of citizen volunteer police--auxiliary and reserve--and examines the history and current practices of volunteer policing. The heart of the book deals with the history of New York City's volunteer police and the inner workings of the New York City Auxiliary Police, a subject the author knows intimately from his twelve years' experience as a participant-observer. Greenberg analyzes and evaluates current issues in volunteer policing. Based on his findings, he projects increased community involvement in volunteer police forces.

Today, it is estimated there are over 200,000 volunteers in police work throughout the United States. Although the need for such volunteers has never been greater, there is a lack of published materials regarding the nature of volunteer police work and how qualified citizens may augment police services. American Volunteer Police: Mobilizing for Security provides a selective overview of the history, organizations, operations, and legal aspects of volunteer police in various U.S. states and territories.

Designed to help police leaders adopt or modify their own volunteer...