LEVOC History    

Be the force behind the force - Volunteer!

In 1999 Karen Siemsen, Volunteer Manager of the Concord Police Department, envisioned providing quality training and networking opportunities for both volunteers and volunteer coordinators. Through her vision, and under her direction, a one-day conference was held in Concord to promote the concept. One hundred volunteers and coordinators attended the conference and were part of this ground-breaking training session. The keynote speaker for the entire day was Betty Stallings and her sessions were interspersed with other topics. The conference has grown and developed into the non-profit organization known as Law Enforcement Volunteers of California (LEVOC). LEVOC is now a two-day conference and hosts over 500 volunteers and leaders in volunteer management each year.

Welcome from Governor Davis, 2003 Conference (click for larger image)

The following year the conference was held in Vacaville and was expanded to its current two days- the first for the coordinators and the second for both volunteers and coordinators. This time 6 agencies were involved with the planning and more than 275 people attended from all over northern California.

The third conference was co-sponsored by the Modesto and Oakdale Police Departments and held in Modesto in 2002 with more than 350 people, representing more than 50 agencies, in attendance for the two-day event. The keynote speaker was the State Attorney General, Bill Lockyer. The planning committee expanded to representatives from 9 law enforcement agencies who developed the moniker of LEVOC (Law Enforcement Volunteers of California). The planning group is comprised of both volunteers and coordinators who meet on a monthly basis to plan and coordinate the annual event.

In November, 2002 the group formalized the program and selected officers and established some guidelines for participation. At that time, the group decided there should be no more than 10 agencies represented on the committee. Each agency on the committee should have both a volunteer and coordinator representative, but has only one vote on any decisions. Members are expected to attend every meeting. Participation by new agencies is encouraged every year, resulting in some changes in the composition of the group. New officers will be selected every year in November.

In 2003, the 4th Annual Conference was hosted by the Sacramento Police Department. Workshop sessions were:

• Serial Killers
• Disaster Preparedness
• Identify Theft
• Missing Persons/Search and Rescue
• Terrorism and Homeland Security

In 2004, the 5th Annual Conference was hosted by the Lodi Police Department. Workshops included:

• Computer age crimes
• Disaster preparedness
• Explosive ordinance devices
• Child safety seat inspection
• Neighborhood watch programs
• Volunteers on patrol

In 2005, the 6th Annual Conference was hosted by the Vacaville Police Department and had 435 attendees. Nancy Kolb, Deputy Project Director of V.I.P.S. spoke on the International Association of Chief's of Police and said it was the largest known law enforcement conference for volunteers in the nation. Workshop sessions were:

• Crime Scene Security
• Traffic Control
• Gang Recognition
• Coping with Stress
• Homeland Security/CERT
• Promoting, Recruiting, Training

In 2006, the 7th Annual Conference was co-hosted by the Davis and Woodland Police Departments with 540 attendees. The Coordinator day provided V.I.P.S. Advanced Training presented by the International Association of Chief's of Police. Volunteer and Coordinator day classes included

• www.MySpace.com and Computer Awareness
• Scams and Identity Theft
• Gangs, Graffiti, Drugs
• Community Outreach: Sr. Wellness, Neighborhood Watch, Crime Prevention, and School Programs
• Pandemic Concerns
• Patrol: Communications, Safety, Vehicle Abatement, Traffic Control

Notable mentions for 2006: the Bud Shropshire Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Doug Schuster of Lodi Police Department. A new award was announced and presented to LEVOC's founder, the Karen Siemsen Coordinator of the Year Perpetual Award. LEVOC became 501c3 exempt. In addition to the 14 sponsoring agencies, the Office of the Governor became a sponsor of LEVOC through Citizen's Corp and California Service Corps.

Contact LEVOC at levoc@levoc.org

Any suggestions or comments on the site format, please contact the webmaster. This site maintained by Steve Dmytriw and this site last updated 8/25/2007.