Tombstone locals aren’t afraid to take the law into their own hands—in fact, they want to.

Dozens of locals are voluntarily policing their own city as part of the Marshall’s Assist program, a group that helps City Marshall Cloud keep watch when he can’t.

“Bill McCloud is a very good marshal. Unfortunately there’s only one of him,” said Brian Davis, a volunteer with the Marshall’s Assist Team who spoke at the Sept. 13 city council meeting.

The approximately half-dozen volunteers contributed over 100 hours of service last month, according to figures read at council by Davis.

“We more than doubled our patrol time, with the only cost added being gas,” Davis said.

What do these volunteers do? Mostly patrol neighborhoods, properties, and assist with EMT calls, said City Clerk George Barnes. They’re taking the place of the formerly known Marshal’s Posse, he said.

Whether or not the volunteer team has reduced crime remains unknown—Marshal Cloud did not answer dozens of phone calls and office visits requesting comment during the writing of this story.

But Davis commented at the Council Meeting that the Marshall’s Assist Team, working together with the town, could help make Tombstone safer.

“When a town gets together, they can fix the problem. I’m willing to take the first step,” Davis said.

What kind of problem? Meth looms large, as Davis mentioned at the meeting, and residents and business owners agree—something he addressed at the city council meeting.

“Don’t turn a blind eye,” Davis said, telling anyone with tips, information, or something to report can anonymously report it by phone, at 260-1205.

Together with citizens, the volunteers and the marshal’s office want to keep people from committing crime in the first place, by keeping a constant watch on what’s going on.

“I think it’s important to be out there. Visibility is a big deterrent,” said Tom West, a Marshal’s Assist Volunteer, who has contributed 12 to 15 hours per week for the past seven months.

A former corporate investigator and volunteer fireman, West patrols neighborhoods for the marshal, backs up deputies on medical and fire calls, and reports any suspicious activity to active duty officers.

“We’re extra eyes and ears for the Marshal’s department,” West said. “If we see something out of place, we’ll radio in.”

Even though West can’t arrest or pull anyone over, his presence deters crime, he said.

“Anytime you patrol in a police vehicle,” West said, “I would say yes, it does deter.”

Though they’re helping the marshal, Barnes stressed the assistants weren’t officers themselves, at all.

“They’re not sworn police officers, they are not post certified [as officers], and are not supposed to act as police officers.”

That doesn’t mean that there’s not internal training, or that many of the Marshal’s Assist Team members aren’t former officers, the Marshal’s Office said.

And some officers, like West, carry guns. But those are strictly outside any law-enforcement purpose.

“If they’re carrying any weaponry it’s their personal weaponry,” Barnes said.

Mayor Jack Henderson is “thrilled a lot of people want to volunteer,” he said.

Tombstone might be small, but it draws a huge crowd—something the volunteers can help out with.

“They give us a lot of support, because we're a very small town that can have 20,000 people in it on an event weekend. We don't have budgets for that kind of increase for public safety.”