Police officers across Silicon Valley are mourning San Jose’s first community service officer killed in the line of duty — a gesture to how integral these officers have become in a city that struggles to fill its police ranks.
Long Pham, a community service officer with the San Jose Police Department since 2022, was killed Aug. 3 after being struck by an alleged drunk driver while directing traffic on Monterey Road. His shocking death highlights the role of community service officers — or CSOs — who are meant to on take some of the workload from the city’s sworn police force.
But they differ from police officers in several ways. They can’t make arrests or enforce laws, but they do help with investigations. Anyone can apply for the role, even if they don’t have law enforcement experience or training. They receive training from the city on how to conduct investigations, handle forensics, learn police codes and self-defense.
SJPD launched the CSO program a decade ago to alleviate pressure on the police force by allowing CSOs to handle lower-priority duties such as traffic and crowd control, help with investigations related to burglaries or vandalism and missing persons cases. San Jose has budgeted hiring at least 67 CSOs to patrol streets, in addition to the at least 980 sworn police officers already working.