Their Ministry: Mean Streets : Law enforcement: Five pastors are chosen to bring a sensitive touch to dealing with victims of crime and accidents.

When the Monrovia Police Department recognized it needed to develop a “soft and sensitive” touch when dealing with crime and accident victims, officials asked local ministers to help.

As a result, the department has chosen five pastors to serve in the Monrovia Police Chaplains Corps.

Although the volunteer program started unofficially in July, the five chaplains were officially introduced to the City Council on last week.

They are Jay Miller of the First Baptist Church, president; Roger Craig of the Olive Branch Church, vice president; Steve Skov of the First Lutheran Church, secretary; Donnie Williams of the Family Church, and Bill Ripley of the First Presbyterian Church.

The ministers will be on call 24 hours a day. Their duties will include assisting officers in domestic violence cases, parent and child disputes, gang intervention and community relations. They will also accompany officers when they notify relatives of the death of a family member, and will help calm victims of traffic accidents.

“One chaplain went to a car accident, and a woman involved in the accident dragged him out to the middle of the intersection and asked him to pray,” Miller said.

The project is not unique, Miller said, adding that he worked in a similar program in Alhambra.

Miller said he volunteered in Monrovia because he comes from a family of police officers and knows of the frustration and anxiety they suffer on the job.

“Officers take a lot of verbal abuse,” he said. “It tends to be a love-hate relationship with police officers, there’s no middle ground.”

The pastors will counsel officers who endure life-threatening situations, or who just need someone to talk to on a regular shift, Miller said.

He said being a chaplain is “enjoyable, because . . . helping people in a crisis is the nuts and bolts of ministry.”

The idea for Monrovia’s program came up at the mayor’s annual prayer breakfast in 1990. Police Chief Joseph Santoro submitted a proposal last April and the City Council approved it.

“Law enforcement officers are dealing with so many volatile and violent situations these days,” Santoro said during an interview. “We need all the help we can get.”

The clergymen must have formal educations and be ordained pastors of local established churches, Miller said. The Police Department runs background checks on applicants, who also take polygraph tests and undergo psychological testing, he said.

While on duty, they wear black polo shirts with “Chaplain, Monrovia Police,” printed in large letters on the back and smaller letters on the front. They carry identification that includes a picture and a special badge stamped “Police Chaplain.”

The ministers are required to put in a minimum of four hours a month, either at the station, on ride-alongs, or doing something else related to police work, Miller said. Depending on need, five more ministers may be added.

Officers are responding to more violent crimes and have little time for sensitivity, Santoro said. During a crisis, victims need someone to talk to, or someone who will listen to them, he said.