SEAL BEACH, Calif. - Whether it’s by the water or on Main Street there’s a new team of police officers on duty in Seal Beach.

Victor Ruiz and Bruno Balderrama are officers with the Seal Beach Police Department. But their jobs are a little different than the 36 other sworn officers at the department.

Ruiz and Balderrama are the Community Oriented Policing— shortened to COP— team. They are a two-man unit.

Unlike most other officers in the department,, their priority isn’t taking 911 calls. Instead they spend most of their time walking and talking.

They could make arrests if they needed to, but their goal is to answer questions and be friendly ambassadors for the police department.

“Our guard’s kind of a little down sometimes when people come up so it’s kind of more relaxed so people feel more open to just have a casual conversation with us,” said Ruiz.

They stick to the beach and Main Street.

Taking officers out of the patrol car isn’t new. It used to be that the COP team would only assemble during the peak visitor season in the summertime, and then only if there was enough money.

In November of 2018, Seal Beach voters passed measure BB. It’s a sales tax raising about $5 million annually.

This means Ruiz and Balderrama will be on this team year-round for at least the next three years.

“It feels truly rewarding when someone just comes up to you and thanks you for keeping them safe,” said Ruiz.

The team primarily works weekends and always wears a uniform so they can interact with as many people as possible.