If they leave a ticket on your window, you don't have to pay, but you may have cause for concern.

Ryan Makar and Sandy Forrington are two volunteers for the Langley RCMP, working out of the Brookswood Community Police Office over the past summer.

Forrington is a long-time volunteer, who got involved first out of concern for speeding drivers in her neighbourhood over 10 years ago.

Makar, on the other hand, is a new volunteer, and at 15 the youngest the local organization has ever had.

Makar, a Langley Fundamental student, applied to help out at the CPO for his 30 hours of community work required by B.C. high schools.

He got far more than that over the summer, putting in time in a variety of efforts while being coached and mentored by Forrington.

"I wanted to get my feet wet to see if I wanted to go into a career in policing," said Makar.

He's gone on volunteer bike patrols, helped out at the site of a crashed truck, handed out fliers about possible attacks on cats, and done a lot of Lock Out Auto Crime work.

"It's all been interesting," Makar said.

Forrington has worked on quite a range of projects herself, and the volunteer efforts to prevent auto theft and theft from cars is one of the key items local volunteers aid the RCMP with.

That's why last week the duo was handing out "tickets" in Brookswood.

Volunteers look for something that could make a car more attractive to thieves.

Is there a cellphone, an iPod, or even a purse visible inside the car? Forrington has seen all of these, even a purse left in a car with the windows rolled down.

Further, is there anything that makes getting into a car easier? Are the windows rolled down even slightly? Is there a steering wheel lock sitting on the floor instead of on the wheel?

If there are issues, the volunteers can leave a ticket warning the drivers that they've exposed themselves to a risk of theft.

Makar said they are approached by some people who often think they're leaving real tickets, but most are friendly when they realize there's no fine.

Karen Zappa, who organizes the volunteers at the Brookswood CPO, said the only "problem" they've had with young volunteers is an excess of youthful energy - they've sometimes had to ask their younger members to slow down a bit!

"I like being able to have that intervention and contact with the youth," Zappa said. "And I find they're extremely energetic."

This year was a bit of a double experiment, with Makar as their youngest volunteer, and with Forrington learning to work with students.

Next year, it should be easier to organize students, and that's good news for Makar, who plans to come back if possible.

For now, he's back in school and working a part time job again.

Makar estimates he hit his 30 hours of volunteer time in the first week at the Brookswood CPO, and then kept coming back for a full two months of unpaid volunteer time.