SPARTAC seeks members

For the past three years, members of Brockport’s SPARTAC team have offered the village’s police department extra sets of eyes and ears. In September, the population in the village increases dramatically but the size of the police force remains static and that is when members of the volunteer group, Students, Police and Residents Together Against Crime, band together.

This year Officer Mark Cuzzupoli has taken over the reins as coordinator of SPARTAC and he hopes to be able to recruit more volunteers. "This is a valuable asset to the police department," he said. "These people help us solve crimes and deter criminal activity. It just makes for a safer community."

Cuzzupoli, who has been with the force since 1994, said he has been involved in helping formalize the SPARTAC program. "We’re working on rules and regulations, training, safety of the volunteers, patrol techniques, and radio communication," he said. "One of the biggest things we stress in training is observation skills."

Observation skills are what the police officers rely on the SPARTAC members for the most. When the SPARTAC teams are out patrolling, they are mainly acting as an extra pair of eyes for the officers. If they see any suspicious activity they call it in. "The volunteers aren’t expected to get involved in any physical way," Cuzzupoli said. "But according to criminal law, police cannot make an arrest unless they observe it … we have SPARTAC helping us with our observations."

SPARTAC members can make citizens arrests, he said.

Francis Welch, who has been with SPARTAC since its inception, said the volunteers usually patrol the streets from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. "There are five of us on the team right now," he said. "We’d like to get more people involved so we can add a patrol on Thursday nights."

For Welch, the transition from being a retired security officer with a degree in police science, to being the liaison of SPARTAC was an easy one. "There were people in the village who were fed up with what was going on when the college population rolls back into town," he said. "We’re out there patrolling, hoping that people will think twice before they do things."

Recruiting new members is high on the list of priorities for both Cuzzupoli and Welch. "If we can increase the membership they can assist with special events and add extra shift coverage," Cuzzupoli said.

SPARTAC members are required to fill out an application and participate in a four hour training course, Cuzzupoli said. "When the members are out on patrol, they are always out there in twos," he said, stressing that safety of the members is always under consideration.

"We aren’t looking for any heroes out there," Cuzzupoli said. "We just want people to get involved in their community and this is a great way to do it."

Welch said there have been at least four different occasions that SPARTAC members have called in incidents to the officers that have resulted in arrests. "We’ve helped with felony driving while intoxicated arrests, disorderly conducts and even found one where there was an underage, illegal bar being operated from a home," he said. "We’ve had some successes and we’re proud of them."

Village Board Trustee Morton Wexler lauded the volunteers for their efforts with the police department. "I hope more people feel this program is important and get involved," he said. "SPARTAC helps improve the efficiency of the police department and is a definite benefit to the community."

Cuzzupoli said SPARTAC has proved to be a valuable asset to the police department. "These members need to be thanked and recognized for their community efforts."

The members, Welch said, prefer to remain anonymous. "We just like knowing we’re making a difference, and this is a good way to serve our community."

Anyone interested in learning more about becoming a SPARTAC member can contact Officer Cuzzupoli at 637-1011.