Police Chaplain Program

The Scotts Valley Police Department's Chaplain Program is designed to provide interested clergy from the Scotts Valley area an opportunity to serve both the department and the citizens of our community. The program began in 1996 and we are happy to report that chaplain services have been extremely beneficial not only to the men and women of the department, but to the local citizens as well.

The Chaplain Program is nondenominational and is provided by volunteer clergy without financial compensation; however, the department provides professional training for the program as well as reimbursement for uniforms, and membership in the California Police Chaplain's Association. This service is provided to the citizens of Scotts Valley, members of this department, and allied agencies who request such services.

The volunteer chaplain provides a variety of services such as:

• On-call assistance 24 hours a day in order to assist officers in situations such as death notifications, grief counseling, suicide intervention, and support for the families and individuals in crises due to traffic or injury related fatalities.
• Provide ceremonial functions as requested by police administration (awards, events, retirements, funerals).
• Provide confidential counseling for police personnel and their family members in order to reduce stress, deal with personal needs or problems, and provide support in a time of family crisis.
• Provide a liaison between police and religious leaders of the community.
• Ride along with officers regularly in order to form a relationship of trust and respect, and to become familiar with their working environment and situations encountered by the police.
• Associate with officers, reserves, city employees, and other citizen volunteers in a variety of contacts such as roll calls, training events, social events, etc.

With the current size of the Scotts Valley Police Department and the City of Scotts Valley we have elected to have one volunteer clergy position that is currently vacant. If you would like to volunteer for this important position click here for more information or call the Volunteer Coordinator at (831) 440-5670.