Pension Posse

Retirees cut crime in Arizona

At 59, Patrolman Ed Johnson is considered one of the kids on the beat. His sidekick, Orville Sorenson, is 73. Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes they are not, but they are close. Along with 275 other volunteers, they make up the Sun City posse, a real, live law-enforcement group that combats the elements of crime in its little piece of the new West--a suburban retirement community outside Phoenix. Decked out in regulation brown-and-beige uniforms and Stetson hats, and sometimes packing pistols, the posse has cut petty theft by 32% since it was started in 1971. Insurance companies, taking note of the drop in Sun City's No. 1 local crime, charge homeowners unusually low premiums. For the 5,000 grateful residents who contribute the $50,000 needed annually to keep the posse on the streets, the payoff also comes in carefree evening strolls and even the unlocked doors of an earlier time.

Encouraged and trained by the local sheriff to bolster his thinly spread paid forces, such posses now number 43 in Arizona's sprawling Maricopa County. The Sun City posse is the largest and, with an average age of 68, the most elderly. The oldest participant: 84-year-old Bill Moore. Volunteers patrol by twos in cars 17 hours a day and summon the professional cops by radio if they spot serious trouble. As part of "vacation watch," a posse patrolman will also check doors and windows for residents who leave town. And always, posse members are alert for an outsider who does not appear to belong. Says Esther Hart, 71, one of 30 women volunteers on the force: "A younger person sticks out like a sore thumb here."

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