Betsy Van Heerden, Barbara Austin and Jenny Andersen began their service to the San Jose Police Department through Volunteer Opportunities for Leadership Training, or VOLT. The VOLT program was implemented in 1996 as a component of the police department's community policing strategy and has grown to include more than 200 volunteers.

Both Austin and Andersen joined VOLT last October. Austin says she was inspired to volunteer after being mistaken on several social occasions as an undercover officer by "people in business," referring to people involved in prostitution.

At the community policing center, VOLT volunteers take care of administrative tasks for on-duty officers. Austin deals with phone calls and foot traffic and helps take police reports.

"I also act as the cleaning lady," she says. "It's very humbling."

On the phone, Austin answers questions about how to handle child-custody disputes, where to get fix-it tickets signed off, what to do in cases of identity theft and even what time it is. The work, she says, "kind of reflects my need to be of social relevance to people."

Andersen got involved in VOLT through a friend she describes as a "police groupie." The friend convinced her to enroll in the now-defunct citizens' police academy. The eight-week course taught Andersen about many aspects of police work, including what it felt like to have a gun pointed at her during a routine traffic stop.

"I knew it wasn't real, but I still dropped as if I'd been shot," she says. "It's a life-changing experience to see what officers go through. It gave me an appreciation for what officers do, so I signed up for VOLT."

Van Heerden says VOLT volunteers are assigned tasks that paid office administrators wouldn't perform. The scope of these tasks is broadening as budget cuts force layoffs in the department: VOLT volunteers now help staff the police's permit department and photo lab.

Andersen sees her role at the community policing center as doing anything she can to make a police officer's job easier, no matter how mundane.

"If making sure they have 3-by-5 cards helps their lives, then fine," she says. "They could get along without what we do. We're making their jobs more pleasant."

"They'd miss us at the Oakridge CPC," Van Heerden counters. "We spoil them."

"They're very appreciative," Andersen agrees. "They'll come up to you and say, 'You're doing this for free?' "

"If the way the police treats us is the way they treat their paid employees, then their paid employees have it good," Andersen says.

"Only one officer treats me like I'm old enough to be his grandma," Van Heerden says. "It annoyed me until I realized that I am."

Even after Patricia Gott, a Willow Glen resident, retired as a San Jose Police Department dispatcher in 2003, she wanted to remain active in the department, so she signed on as a VOLT volunteer.

"It gives me the chance to still interact with the department and its members," Gott says. "They were like my family, and I didn't want to leave my family. And it's given me the chance to meet new people."

Gott volunteers in the department's sexual assault unit, where she answers phones. While it may be uncompensated, Gott says, it's a lot less stressful than her last job with the department.

"When I was a dispatcher, I answered 911 and 311 calls, but I was mostly on the radio with officers," she says. "Now I'm on the phone answering people's questions rather than having people screaming at me."

The four Willow Glen women are representative of the bulk of VOLT's ranks, which are heavily female and of or near retirement age. The program is open to volunteers as young as 18, and Van Heerden says it attracts college students interested in law enforcement careers.

"You have to have an inherent liking for police officers" to be an effective VOLT volunteer, Austin says. "I think that's instilled in you as a child."

One of Van Heerden's favorite VOLT duties is leading tour groups from schools and community groups through the police department offices. It's through these tours, she says, that she gets a sense of what the volunteer program contributes to the community.

"You get a good feeling from teachers, counselors and parents who thank you for the extra time you've taken" in giving them a tour, Van Heerden says.

Van Heerden's neighbor, Margaret Hoge, convinced her that becoming involved with VOLT was worth the extra time it took.

"There's a very rigorous background check to get into the VOLT program," Van Heerden says.

Once volunteers pass this background investigation and a fingerprint check, they're assigned to work a set schedule for a specific police unit for a minimum of 12 hours per month. The police department will transfer volunteers if an assignment proves to be a bad fit, Van Heerden says.

"They work really hard to find someplace you're happy," she says.

Andersen says it's the people she works with, not necessarily the work she's doing, that makes her VOLT experience enjoyable.

"There are many jobs I'd like to try in VOLT, but I like hanging out with the guys at the CPC," she says.

For more information about the VOLT program, contact Tom Jensen at 408.219.6658, or visit www.sjpd.org.