PASCO COUNTY, Fla. -- June 1 marks the beginning of hurricane season, a time of year when the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Citizen Service Unit continues to be a valuable resource for the agency.

  • Volunteer unit formed in 2004
  • Unit helps ease workload for deputies all year long
  • Interested in volunteering? Click HERE

The unit’s supervisor, Sgt. Matt Rosenbloom, said via e-mail that the CSU played a critical role in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Members assisted with evacuations, road debris removal, and handed out food and supplies. 

But since it formed in 2004, the unit has also helped to ease the workload on deputies on a year-round basis.

“We supplement the deputies in the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. We let them do all the things that are dangerous or could be dangerous,” said CSU Member George Geier. “We handle all the calls that don’t really need a deputy there, like traffic accidents and welfare checks.”

Geier volunteers twice a week with his CSU partner, Ron Owles. They work at least eight-hour shifts, patrolling the county and getting dispatched to calls.

“A deputy sheriff has a very, very difficult job. They have to cover a lot of areas,” said Owles. “We come in as a force multiplier because we assist those guys, let them go out there to do all the dangerous things, and we take care of all the mundane traffic requirements, lights out, stuff like that.”

Some CSU members are former law enforcement or military, like Owles, who served in the Army. Others, like Geier, have no previous experience.

Rosenbloom said anyone could join CSU as long as they meet hiring standards and can physically handle the job.

“Well, it’s community service," said Geier. "I wanted to do something that was community service and also, when you’re retired, and most of us are, we really get into, ‘I can’t sit in the house all the time.’ So I do it as something to socialize, too."

According to Rosenbloom, CSU members spent 30,588 hours volunteering last year, which saved PCSO $690,000. 

“We stay active, we help the sheriff’s office,” said Owles. “We live in Pasco County, so we serve Pasco County, and that’s the nice thing about it.”

For more information, visit the Pasco Sheriff's Office Volunteer Opportunties page.