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Volunteer Opportunities
Program Description
The Volunteer Services program was established in 1996 to free up sworn officers' time to allow them to focus on frontline policing duties. Because the officers are able to spend more time on the important aspects of their duties, Missoula is safer and more livable.
We currently have 15 volunteers ranging in age from 18 to 90.
Goals
We strive to provide our volunteers with positive experiences that meet their interests, desires, and assist them in attaining their career goals. Some are retirees, some are college students, and some are graduates looking to build their resumes. They are community members who want to make a difference. All are extremely talented and are a great asset to our community.
Volunteer Requirements
All volunteers must fill out an application, pass a background investigation, be fingerprinted, and sign a confidentiality statement to be eligible to participate in our Volunteer Program.
Apply to Volunteer
If you would like to donate your time to help the Missoula Police Department and gain invaluable experience at the same time, please complete this online Volunteer Application. As soon as we process the application, our Volunteer Coordinator will contact you.
Areas of Help
There are many areas where the volunteers help, which include:
- Lost and Found Property: After an officer or citizen has turned in lost property, the volunteers will try to find the owner and return them their item.
- Pawn Program: The volunteer checks the database to see if any pawn shop items are stolen. Officers are then able to search for stolen property and catch the suspects. Volunteers also assist law enforcement officers from other jurisdictions in finding stolen property and suspects.
- Anti-Graffiti Task Force: Responding to graffiti complaints in the community in a timely manner by photographing and painting over the graffiti. This saves an enormous amount of time and manpower for the city and keeps Missoula looking good.
- Administrative Support: Filing paperwork, creating packets, working in Excel, inputting data, and other clerical work.
- Marking Abandoned Vehicles: Going out into the community in a city vehicle to tag abandoned cars for our Abandoned Vehicles Specialist.
- AED’s: Checking the defibrillators by ensuring they are sanitized and connected to WiFi via the website and in person.
- Training Actors (AMA, SWAT, Crisis Negotiation Team, Overlap): Volunteers act in different scenarios for officer trainings.
- Ceremonies Setup and Outreach Events (Swearing In, Recruitment, Retirement Parties, National Night Out, etc): Once every few months the Volunteer Coordinator will need help setting up for special events.
- Chaplain Program: Clergy members who provide pastoral care to members of law enforcement and members of the community during incidents of crisis, trauma, or grief.
Intern Opportunities
**All internship spots for Spring 2026 are filled. Applications for Summer 2026 are open starting March 1st. It is first come, first serve. Please fill out the Volunteer Application and email the Volunteer Coordinator for more information.**
Opportunities for internships exist in many areas at the Missoula Police Department. We have worked with students studying Sociology, History, Geography and other majors. Areas at the police department include the following:
- Abandoned Bike Program: First, the Volunteer Coordinator receives an abandoned bike report, then a Community Services Specialists (CSS) picks up the bike and logs it into our system. After this, the intern will organize the inventory and try to research the owner. If they cannot find one after 90 days, the bike will either be auctioned for the general city fund or donated to Free Cycles.
- Abandoned Vehicle Specialist: The intern volunteer will assist the abandoned vehicles in maintaining accurate and up-to-date records related to abandoned and junk vehicles. This role supports administrative and data management tasks to ensure compliance and efficiency in documentation processes.
Patrol Car Stocking: The intern stocks the back of the patrol vehicles with everything that they need including paperwork, caution tape, stop sticks, life jackets, hobble helmets, etc.
- Public Information Officer Assistant: Helping to ensure all MPD info on the internet is correct, assisting in holiday posts, putting info binders together, etc.
- Business License Background Checks: Checking the database for those trying to obtain a business license.
- Detectives Support: Helping create excel sheets, scan documents, or any other work that can free up detective’s time, so they don’t have to focus on busy work.
- Admin Assistant: Assigned any computer related projects that take a longer amount of time to complete for the Admin Division.
We work with universities to ensure our interns earn college credit. A goal of ours is to give interns valuable work experience that can translate to their chosen future career. If you are interested in internship possibilities feel free to contact our Volunteer Coordinator.