9:45am | The Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) recently graduated a class of nine individuals as Senior Police Partners (SPP). The new graduates are Sonia Duran, Fran Feinberg, Sylvia Goldstein, Ernestine Green, Isidro “Izzy” Lopez, Linda Penrod, Jane Rutkin, Suzie Williams and Mike Yoachum. 

The Senior Police Partner program was developed in 1995 to meet the needs of the growing senior community and to assist the LBPD with community outreach to senior victims of crime.  The program has had a positive impact on quality of life issues for senior citizens and has proven to be a tremendous asset to community safety throughout the city, according to the LBPD.

The 40-hour academy includes both classroom and field training. The classroom training provides information on listening skills, community resources, peer counseling and police procedures.

Field Training provides trainees with the opportunity to practice personal safety & radio skills, role play with senior members in the community, conduct vacation checks, report graffiti and sign removal. 

Now that the new SPPs have completed the academy portion of their training, each will be assigned to a Senior SSP for approximately 90 days for one-on-one training in the field. Upon completion of the training matrix, they will be presented with a volunteer badge.