Volunteers are being sought for a community initiative expanding into Livingston and Washtenaw Counties.

The Michigan State Police is looking for volunteers to join its CAUTION initiative. It stands for Community Action United Team in Our Neighborhood. CAUTION is a partnership between MSP, clergy and faith group members of all faiths that works to increase trust and communication between law enforcement and residents. CAUTION was created in 2012 at the Flint Post but has expanded since to include faith leaders in Saginaw, Inkster, Muskegon Heights and Benton Harbor. 103 trained volunteers are currently participating in the program. Due to the continued success of the program, CAUTION is now expanding statewide to each of MSP’s 30 posts, including Brighton.

CAUTION members meet regularly with post personnel to encourage dialog and information-sharing. They can also be activated to respond alongside law enforcement at crime scenes to ease tensions and provide emotional support to residents. CAUTION members will partner with MSP members at civic events and diversionary events that seek to deter future criminal behavior in their communities. MSP provides various training to volunteers, some which includes courses in critical incident defusing/debriefing, security in places of worship, responding with law enforcement in a crisis, avoiding caregiver burnout and clergy’s role at a critical incident scene. There is also an annual statewide CAUTION conference.

Interested individuals in Livingston and Washtenaw counties are asked to contact Community Service Trooper Olivia Sivy at the Brighton Post at 810-227-1051 to learn more. (JM)