Even though policing as a profession has existed for almost 200 years, public safety and security had traditionally been the responsibility of community members. While government officials have been tasked with law enforcement and disorder control since the early nineteenth century, there continues to be a need for community support. Significant crises, such as overpopulation, conflict, war, terrorism, spikes in crime and violence, and budgetary restrictions, have consistently created scenarios for the need for supplementary support for the police. As such, a return to direct community involvement remains a viable and effective option to improve public safety. Specifically trained community volunteers continue to contribute greatly to the success of contemporary police departments across the globe. These important resources play many roles, ranging from administrative assistants, to aiding in search and rescue operations, to traffic control, to school safety, to community observers and neighborhood patrol, and, in some cases, elevating to actual law enforcement activities and routine patrol operations. In order for a police volunteer program to be productive, it is imperative that specific criteria and potential challenges be considered and properly addressed. It is the intention of this chapter to examine these particular issues and pose policy recommendations for successful programmatic design and implementation.