When I lived in Washington I was a volunteer in search and rescue. The first time I ran into CAP was on a search with the cadets marching through the would chopping everything in site with machettes. That was my first impression, and I wasn't impressed. We used to make fun at the fly-in when they'd march along and play cops, but if you think about it, kids could be out doing a lot worse stuff.
Later, when I because a pilot, another instructor told me about CAP and I joined the senior squardron in Portland with a friend. My idea was, being involved in SAR and now a pilot I could combine both. Both of us were CFI's, but in the year I was a member down there I couldn't get any of the basic tests and paperwork done, so we couldn't even ride along as observers. There were 3 or 4 guys who did all the flying, even though there were probably 20 active members. They always said they needed more CFI's, but we couldn't get anywhere. It was almost was like a private flying club like others have said.
In October 2001 I moved to Anchorage and transfered to one of the squadrons here. I was finally able to get the basic training and paperwork done, and as of last weekend, finally got all of the requirements done to ride in the plane as an observer. It only took about 3 years. I'm trying to get checked out in the planes but it's hard to find instructors. They recently said they are going to make it a priority to get me and another CFI who just joined checked out to add to the list of available CFIs. The thing to remember though, is it's all volunteers, and everyone has jobs and/or families. So, I try not to get frustrated. There seems to be a lot of peple who join and end up quitting before too long.
Some people do join just because of the cheap flying, but the reality is, it takes so long to get to the point where you can fly a lot of people don't stick around. For some people, CAP is the only flying they do. There is a long process to get checked out in the planes, but that doesn't mean that everyone will be safe, just like anything else. The squadron here is really strict on safety, and all of the planes are well maintained. As long as I've been a member of the squadron up here, it's been obvious that overall people are members because they love to fly and want to help others. And if there is an oppurtunity to fly at an affordable rate in well maintained planes, take it. There is a lot of paperwork, but most of it is there for a reason. Showing that you've been trained, making sure the planes aren't past they inspection times, etc.
Overall I'd say it's a good thing, but like everything else there are gonna be bad examples. There is a lot of paperwork, and it takes forever to get anywhere, but if you look at it as an opportunity to to use a skill you have to help others, and not as cheap flying or a quick way to build hours, I think it's good.