General Information

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is committed to fostering strong community involvement with the citizens we are proud to serve. The concept of community oriented policing strives for the building of partnerships within the community to solve identified problems.

During your ride along, you may observe deputies interact and work with citizens or business owners/employees to help solve problems in the respective neighborhood areas.  You might also see patrol deputies work together with Sheriffs Office specialized units including the Traffic Unit, the Crime Reduction Unit, the K-9 or Mounted Unit and at times, even the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team to solve issues throughout El Paso County, promoting our Community Policing philosophy.

With the passing of the 1A Ballot Initiative, which enhanced our deputy presence within the community, patrol officers have more of an opportunity during the shift to be proactive looking for and dealing with criminal activity.  Some of the calls for service a person may encounter during a ride along could range from, business and residential alarms, motorist assists to more serious calls such as, traffic stops, DUI’s, drug activity, domestic violence incidents and other types of disturbances.

Community Policing is not something we perform for the citizens; rather, it is something we engage in with the community. With this in mind, the Sheriff’s Office invites citizens to observe and learn about the patrol function through the Ride-Along Program. We are pleased to be able to extend this application to you. Please understand that for your safety you may participate as an observer only and will be under the direct control of your host deputy at all times.

Our concern for your safety and that of our deputies is of paramount importance. To ensure we may continue to deliver effective service to all of our citizens, we place certain restrictions on this process:  In order to participate in this program, you must be at least 18 years old or a member of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Cadet Program.

• Prior to the beginning of your Ride-Along, you will be required to sign a waiver of liability. Unfortunately, there are inherent risks with any law enforcement function.
• We ask you to please maintain a neat, clean, businesslike appearance during your Ride-Along with our deputies.
• You may not, under any circumstances, be armed with any type of weapon.

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to share with you the services provided by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division. We view this program as an excellent opportunity to showcase our activities and meet more members of the outstanding community we serve.

To apply for the Ride Along Program please following the instructions below:

• Download and fill out the Ride Along Application completely.
• Mail or deliver in person the application and any attached papers to the following address:

El Paso County Sheriff's Office
Ride Along Program
27 East Vermijo Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO. 80903

You will be contacted regarding your application.