A watchful eye in Valley Stream

There are many people who care about the general well being of Valley Stream and those who call it home. These people display their care in a multitude of ways and often lend a helping hand to those in need whenever possible. No matter the scale, every good deed in a community is helpful, and the members of the Valley Stream Civilian Patrol are well aware of that.

You’ve probably seen them driving around town with long “Civilian Patrol” signs atop their cars. The Civilian Patrol had about 200 members at its height in years past, but now has approximately 35 active members.

Ralph Polverino, president of the Civilian Patrol for the last six years, has been a member since 1990. He organizes the patrol schedule each week to make sure that there is at least one car on the road at just about all hours of the day.

“It’s a volunteer job, so you can’t tell anyone to go out,” Polverino said, “but we ask for as little as two hours per week from each member.”

The height of Civilian Patrol traffic comes in the afternoon when Valley Stream’s four school districts let out for the day. On a typical school day, there are about three or four patrol cars out in the late afternoon. A patrol for one individual usually lasts two hours.

Each member uses their own cars for patrol and has a walkie-talkie on them at all times. While cars are patrolling Valley Stream, there is one person in a central location that acts as the command center.

“If we see something, we report it to the cops with our cell phones and then report it to base with our walkie-talkies,” said Polverino, a Valley Stream resident for 52 years.

Once a crime or incident is seen, the Civilian Patrol makes sure to alert the proper authorities and then provide any assistance they can. “If there’s an accident we ask the cops if they want us to [direct] traffic or something like that, but we do not interfere with the policemen at all,” Polverino said.

Often, there is no crime to report, which makes patrols seem uneventful, but to Civilian Patrol members that’s good. “Many times it’s boring,” Polverino said. “You do your two hours and you don’t see anything, but other times you see things.”

He added, “If nothing is happening that’s a good thing. That means there’s no crime.”