Auxiliary Police

The Portsmouth Police Department Auxiliary Police Unit originated from the Civil Defense Auxiliary Police which was formed during World War II. The program remained under the control of the Civil Defense Organization until the early 1960's when, by an act of Portsmouth City Council, it was placed under the Division of Police.

The Portsmouth Auxiliary Police Unit is authorized up to 100 officers and is currently at 22 auxiliaries. The auxiliary is structured to match the regular police department in all aspects with the unit comprised of one auxiliary Captain, one auxiliary Lieutenant and one auxiliary Sergeant, who make up the line officers of the auxiliary, and the rest of the force in Uniform Patrol or in Specialized Units.

Entrance requirements mirror those of the regular department with the exception of the written Civil Service Exam and include: a thorough background investigation, physical exam, physical agility test and polygraph exam. Once accepted, applicants must attend the 640 hour auxiliary police academy that lasts approximately 10 months, with classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from 6 pm to 10 pm and some occasional Saturdays and Sundays. After graduation from the academy, auxiliary officers must ride with a PTO (Police Training Officer) for 300 or more hours to have their final certifications completed. Once completed, the auxiliary officer is DCJS Certified (Department of Criminal Justice Services) as a Law Enforcement Officer and may then ride alone. After one year in Uniform Patrol, auxiliary officers may also apply for transfers to other specialty units, as requested, within the department. Along with supporting regular uniform patrol duties, nine auxiliary officers have collateral duties in Specialized Units. Two are assigned to the Detective Bureau as Investigators; one is assigned to the Narcotics Squad; one is a School Resource Officer volunteering over one hundred hours per month; one is assigned to the Strategic Traffic Unit as an Investigator; one is assigned to the Mounted Patrol Unit; one is assigned to the Bike Patrol Unit; one is assigned as a Background Investigator. One auxiliary officers is fully qualified and assigned to the TRU (Tactical Response Unit) as a team member.

Auxiliary officers wear the same uniform as regular officers. Officers must work a minimum of 24 hours per month or a total of 72 hours per quarter and must also attend DCJS re-certification training every two years consisting of 40 hours of in-service training. Officers must also re-qualify on the firing range twice per year and must re-certify annually in defensive tactics.

From January 1991 to the end of December 2007, the officers of the Portsmouth Police Auxiliary Unit worked approximately 166,168 volunteer hours serving their community. The Auxiliary Police Unit has earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award, Gold Level, for the 4th year in a row.