The Wheeling Police Department welcomed six new Neighborhood Assistant Volunteers (NAV’s) this week.

In recent years, NAV’s have served an important role at Wheeling PD. The volunteers provide an extra set of eyes for the department by patrolling and alerting uniformed officers of issues in all neighborhoods. NAV’s also help with several police department and city-wide events, including concerts and festivals at Heritage Port, the annual Christmas parade and Ogden Half-Marathon. 

Over the last few weeks, the six new members attended 12 hours of classroom education that provided guidance on various subjects like traffic rules and control, basic patrolling, types of emergency calls, departmental policies and personal safety. NAV’s also must attend the department’s Citizen’s Police Academy and complete several ride-alongs with officers. 

Wheeling Police currently have around two dozen Neighborhood Assistant Volunteers. Each year, NAV’s log more than 1,000 volunteer hours to the police department. 

PHOTO:
Front Row: Kim Emery, Carla Vessels, Susan Simpson
Back Row: Lt. Josh Sanders, Kathy Bonenberger, Catherine Coleman, Jason Coleman & Chief Shawn Schwertfeger.