This spring, the Cortez Police Department will hire local teens and some retired citizens to work as part of a community policing project.

"The community hosts will be working from Memorial Day to around Labor Day providing directions, assisting with problems, handing out information, and helping tourists around the area," said Cortez police officer Diane Fox, who is helping to organize the program. It is expected that these hosts will be especially useful during large-scale events such as craft fairs, Krazy Daze and car shows.

Fox said that eight people will be hired on a part-time, seasonal basis for the program’s first year of operation. "These are not sworn positions so the hosts won’t be enforcing any laws," she said.

Fox said that the hosts will be in direct contact with patrolling officers and the police dispatcher through individual radios. "The hosts will be able to act as an extra set of eyes and ears for the police department, informing us of incidents such as intoxication and loitering," she said.

The idea for a community policing project in Cortez has been based on a similar program that has been in existence for about five years in Page, Ariz.

Wayne Wright, the chief of police in Page, said that the community policing and community host programs have become an overall philosophy for the Page community.

"Every year between May and November we hire 15 people, dress them up in shorts, walking sneakers and bright, tie-dyed shirts that say ‘ask how I can help’ and we put them out on the streets to answer questions and help tourists," said Wright.

Wright said that Page has many similarities to Cortez, with an approximate population of 9,500 and an Indian reservation nearby.

"Every summer we receive about 4 million visitors from all over the world to our community," said Wright. "Many of them were shocked by the public intoxication (legal in Arizona) and the panhandling that went on."

"Since we have put the hosts out on the streets, many of the panhandlers have disappeared," Wright said. "Between 1998 and 1999 we have had 200 less reports of shoplifting and panhandling."

Wright said that, when hiring for the host positions, the police department looks for outgoing people with a good disposition who enjoy talking.