The country is looking for workers and that includes law enforcement agencies.At the Bellevue Police Department, leaders want more volunteers to step-up so the city doesn’t have to cut-back on some of the events it sponsors.The volunteers make up what is called the VIPER Unit.VIPER is an acronym for “Volunteers in Police Enforcement and Response.”“You're the early warning system,” said Mark Borystky.With the help of Sgt. Joe Collins from the Omaha Police Department, Borystky helped start the VIPER Unit in 2004.The unit has been going ever since then, but the pandemic did have an impact.“The numbers fluctuated,” Borystky said, “but as far as the unit, it never shut down.”The VIPERs do things like check houses when the homeowner is going to be away on vacation, block off streets during major city events, check for fire lane and handicap parking violations and run paperwork to courthouses.“It's to free-up the sworn officers to be out on the streets,” said Borystky.He said one day on patrol he checked a van parked in a fire lane and when he got closer he saw two little heads in the back seat.After checking, he determined they were a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old, but there weren’t any adults around.He called for an officer and when the mother returned to the van she was ticketed.“She went in to get a pair of sunglasses but left her two kids in the car, parked in the fire lane,” Borystky said, “So, being there at the right time, we also made sure that the children were taken care of.”KETV Newswatch 7 rode along with Borystky and fellow VIPER Jean Coburn.She and her husband both volunteer after they retired.Coburn is a Bellevue native and worked at Offutt AFB for 37-years. Her husband spent 22-years in the Air Force.They both wanted to do something to help the community.“We consider ourselves extra sets of eyes for the police, that's the way we like to look at it,” said Coburn, “If we see something happen, maybe there's a medical issue, we've had that happen at parades before where somebody fell, hurt themselves, you know, and they just can't be at every place all the time, so it does free up a lot of their time.”Bellevue Police Chief Ken Clary said the VIPERS save the city an estimated $70,000 every year in personnel costs.“We would have to add several additional bodies that we just don't have the funding for in order to do the things they're helping us with,” explained Clary.Chief Clary said they try to never put the volunteers in situations where they would be at risk.“The majority of the places they are, they are going to be surrounded by officers from the Special Services Unit or some of our patrol units,” Clary said, “So if they ever have question or feel at-risk they have an immediate officer that would be read to assist them in any way.”Bellevue Police Sergeant Larry Lampman oversees the VIPER Unit which is in the department’s Special Services Unit.“Anyone that's interested in serving the community, there's no amount of time that they have to give. We like them to be at a few events a year but there's no set time,” said Lampman, “We have all ages. We have retired police officers. We have retired military.”Borystky is both of those.He is a retired military police officer.He said he started the VIPER Unit, and continues to do it, because he still has something to give to the community.“To go out there and support the police department and help keep the community safe,” said Borystky.Anyone who wants to apply for the VIPER Unit will have a background check done, will go through ten weeks of training and will also learn CPR and First Aid.Those interested should contact the Bellevue Police Department.Their main number is (402) 593-4111.Their website is: Bellevue Police Department