Police Programs

In 2006 the Alvin Police Department instituted a new tool to help keep Alvin safe. A group of specially trained citizens from the Alvin Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association made  their first patrol in the group’s new Citizen’s Patrol Unit. The specially equipped and marked patrol vehicle will allow the Patrol Unit to act as an extra set of eyes and ears for the citizens of Alvin. Each member of the Unit has completed the Citizen’s Police Academy and an additional course of specialized training in patrol techniques, qualifying them to begin patrolling Alvin’s streets. The Citizen’s Patrol Unit assists the Alvin Police Department with crime prevention patrols, motorist assistance, wrecker stand-by, traffic control, close patrols and handicapped parking enforcement. Our mission is to act as a force multiplier for the city’s police officers. We assist them with non-enforcement activities so that they are available to answer more calls. We also act as a deterrent to crime by conducting highly visible patrols. Applicants for the Citizen’s Patrol Unit must either have completed the Citizen’s Police Academy or be willing to complete the Academy during the next offering. For more information on the unit contact Lt. David Elsner.

The Alvin Police Department Chaplain program began in 2001. The goal of the program is to provide spiritual guidance to our officers, victims of traumatic incidents, and members of the community. The program provides guidance and support after critical incidents or disasters. The sooner the healing process begins the better the outcome for everyone involved.  Other duties will include assisting law enforcement in death notifications, prisoner visitations, and hospital and home visitations in times when an officer may be seriously injured or ill. 

The Chaplain Program is designed to work hand-in-hand with the police department’s Victim Liaison Office and will augment their efforts. The chaplains, working on an on-call rotating, voluntary basis, will be issued official identification and jackets identifying them as Chaplains, and are paged out during critical incidents. They are also available upon request of an officer or citizen. These individuals will assist in dealing with an issue that many officers are ill equipped to address – the human emotional component in the aftermath of a critical incident. The Alvin Police Department currently has 13 active chaplains. For more information on the Chaplain Program contact Maribel Cooper.

This program, initiated in 2013, is a monthly, community based program that allows the public to interact with officers in a casual, leisurely atmosphere so that citizen concerns that would not normally have been brought to the attention of the Police Department through traditional means, can be addressed. 

Officers will be at different sponsored locations throughout the city once each month, and we invite you join us for a cup of coffee and tell us your concerns, or simply sit and visit. Dates and locations are published on our departmental facebook page.

For more information, contact Officer A. Winebrenner at 281-585-7171.

This voluntary program gives citizens the opportunity to help solve crime in their neighborhoods. By registering your exterior facing security camera, you help build a secure database that allows police to notify you directly in the event a crime occurs in your neighborhood and ask you to determine if any suspicious activity was caught on your camera. Complete our online form to register your camera.

The Camera Registration Program is designed to collect locations of private exterior-facing cameras in neighborhoods. This program does not give police access to your camera system. Nor does it place cameras on your home. It allows the department to build a list of citizens with existing cameras who are willing to help in the event video may be available for an incident in their neighborhoods.

For more information, contact Lt. Shawn Gilcrease at 281-585-7104.

Shepherd Program

The Shepherd Program was initiated in 1998 in an effort to gather information and develop a coordinated response to those citizens with Alzheimer's disease. Nearly 4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's and they can easily become disoriented, lost and reported as missing by family members. 

This program allows for critical information and photographs to be on file with the Police Department. This proves invaluable in the event that someone is found and appears disoriented or is reported as missing by loved ones. Shepherd program information packet (PDF) can be downloaded. Questions or forms for the program can be directed to Lt. Shawn Gilcrease.

Alvin Police Department and Alvin Code Compliance has teamed up to present Operation Clean Sweep. This program targets the most common code violations such as:

• High grass/weeds
• Junked vehicles
• Broken fences
• Other unsightly nuisances

The Patrol Division, during routine patrol, will identify these violations and notify the responsible party by the use of a door hanger. This door hanger identifies the issue and the date of notification. If you receive a door hanger notification you have 3 business days before Code Compliance will do a follow-up. If the violation has been corrected no further action will be taken, if however, the violation still exists then Code Compliance will begin their normal process which may culminate in a citation being issued for the violation. 

This program's intent is that once a violation is identified that the responsible person will take steps to correct the violation and that no further enforcement action will have to occur.

For more information, contact Ofc. A. Winebrenner at 281-585-7171.

The The Alvin Police Department, in cooperation with Bay Area Council On Drugs and Alcohol (BACODA), provides a safe way to dispose of unwanted or expired prescription medications with "no questions asked". 

A "drop box" is available in the front lobby of the police department for depositing these unwanted medications. Plastic bags are provided for people to empty their prescription bottles into, then drop into the "drop box". The medications are later taken for incineration, keeping them off the streets and out of our city's water system. The Alvin Police Department has collected thousands of pounds of medications since the inception of the program in 2014.

No liquids, syringes, needles or lancets are accepted.

The "drop box" is available 24/7.