Walton County Sheriff's Office rounding up posse

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — The Walton County Sheriff’s Office wants to round up a posse.

A posse program is one of three components of a new volunteer program designed to teach residents new skills and get their help in keeping communities safe, according to WCSO spokesman Mike Gurspan.

“It’s in the formative stages right now, but hopefully early next year we’ll have it up and running,” Gurspan said. “It’s been successful in other law-enforcement agencies in the area, and we hope to bring that same success here.”

The program will be divided into three components.

The Citizen Volunteer Corps will perform clerical and administrative duties to help support the department’s day-to-day operations. The College Intern Program is geared toward students who want to learn more about the law-enforcement field and earn internship credits.

Finally, the Walton County Sheriff’s Posse will assist deputies with public-safety activities in the county. The posse will be an all-volunteer auxiliary police force.

A similar program has been in place at the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office since 1955.

Capt. Terry Watkins, a state-certified auxiliary officer who heads the program, said the state Legislature started the posse programs in 1950. He said the OCSO posse program is one of the few remaining, since most Sheriff’s Offices have now switched to either part-time or reserve-deputy programs.

“Our main job is to supplement the Sheriff’s Office when they need assistance,” Watkins said.

The roughly 40 volunteers perform a variety of tasks: controlling traffic at football games and parades, working security at festivals, helping to secure crime scenes, booking prisoners into the county jail, and even performing guard duty.

Basically, Watkins said, the volunteers do everything that deputies do except issue traffic tickets and make arrests. Seven vehicles at the OCSO are specifically designated for use by members of the posse “so if there is an emergency (such as a hurricane), we can respond right away,” he said.

And the reasons people volunteer are as varied as the duties they perform.

“We have some members (who are retired) and many people who are still working and want to do something to help the county, and this is what they chose to do,” he added. “Some want a career in law enforcement, and this program is a stepping stone … and way to see if they want to do it.”

Volunteers can sign up to work out of either the main office on Triple G Road in DeFuniak Springs or the substation on U.S. Highway 331 in Santa Rosa Beach.

Anyone who wishes to get involved with the WCSO volunteer program first must undergo a background check and meet other requirements, including credentialing. Applications can be found online at www.waltonso.org or at the main office on Triple G Road in DeFuniak Springs.

For more information about the Citizen Volunteer Corps or the College Intern Program, contact Lt. Eddie Farris at 401-4063 or efarris@waltonso.org. For more information about the Walton County Sheriff’s Posse, contact Lt. Frank Hawley at 892-8186 or fhawley@waltonso.org.