US Reserve Officer info exchange

irishrgr

Morning (over here anyhow) all,

New to the boards, only found it recently.....

I'm an expat living in the US (Texas) and amongst my other responsibilities, I'm a reserve officer with the sheriff's office where in live. This is similar to the Garda Reserve programme, especially as we don't get paid for it either :-)

I've been with the agency as a reserve for a while and am willing to answer questions or exchange ideas etc online with people involved in the GS Reserve.

Regards,

A

WilcoOut

welcome!

one question and one question alone popped into my head.......

were ya packing heat as a US reserve!?

brinks_18476

Big welcome. Nice to hear from you.
Was stopped on I35 last month heading out from Dallas (speeding:o).
Thought the dude was gonna shoot me!
Wasn't you was it???????

Some questions to start with:D

Do you guys have same powers of arrest as full time officers?

How many hours do you have to do?

What equipment are you issued with?

Are you armed with gun? / Taser?

Are you allowed to drive police vehicles?

How long is reserve training?

irishrgr

OK lads, here are some of the answers....and no I didn't stop any Micks on IH 35 recently :-) and if I had, I doubt I'd given a ticket...

Bear in mind, every State in the US has different laws regarding policing, especially as regards reserve officers, so I can only speak for Texas.....

Yes, we are armed. I carry a Glock 17 pistol and a shotgun in the car. Less than lethal weapons are my Asp and pepper spray. I will be issued a Tazer in the future once I complete the training and the dept gets around to issuing them to the reserves. I drive a patrol car as part of my duties.

In Texas the law only recognizes "peace officers" as those who can enforce laws. The training and certification be you reserve or full time is the same in the eyes of the law and we have the same powers and responsibilities as any full time peace officer, we just don't get paid.

Initial training varies from agency to agency, larger agencies will run their own training classes generally 4-6 months 40 hours/week, some will do a night/weekend academy and you can get the basic training at some community colleges (equivalent of a tech back in Ireland). Once you are licensed by the State, then an agency has to "commission" you. Without a commission (i.e. a badge) you are merely someone who has a nice cert from the school.

At my agency we go through the same hiring & vetting process (background check, interviews, medical, psychological & physical testing) as any full timer. Once through all that, you are issued your uniforms & kit and assigned to a SGT in the Reserve unit.

As a basic reserve deputy, you can work certain events, mainly sporting events (think 10K races, etc) other public events under the control of the reserve SGT. In order to ride along with patrol units, you have to go through a phase of the same "clearance" process as the full timers. How to use the radio, computer; write basic tickets, essentially how to be a basic copper under the control of a full timer.

One can choose to continue through the process and be cleared to independent duty where you spend a few months with a training officer, meet the requirements and then you can work patrol shifts independently just like a full timer. Our department standard is one officer/car, we don't have two to a car.

Our minimum requirement is 20 hours/month. The State requires 40 hours/year mandatory continuing education and quarterly weapons qualification; this is in addition to our 20 hours/month.

In the eyes of the law we have all the same powers as a full timer, arrest, detention, use of force etc. I've written tickets, arrested people for felonies, taken them to jail, and of course, had to go to court as well.

It's a significant time commitment but I like it. We have lads in the unit who have been reserves for years and still do it. Various motivations, some looking for a career in the full timers, a few former full timers who did a career change but want to stay in the community, others who want to work in/with the community. From reading the board, it sounds like the same motivation as the GR in many ways.

Keep the questions coming......A

ZoneAlarm

How long have you been doing this, and how long have you lived in the states, what is the age requirments and how hard is it to get in, how are you accepted by the full timers seen as you do it for free and you do excatly the same work as they do.

WilcoOut

also, what impact does court appearences have on your fulltime career?

do you get any special treatment due to your commission with time off for these appearences?

do your employers get any tax breaks etc?






and any chance of a go of your glock!? :cool:;)

irishrgr

I've been in the states for over 20 years now, been a while as it were. In Texas, since 9-11 one has to be a US citizen to become a peace officer, non citizens prior to that were grandfathered in.

Age requirements vary from agency to agency, we have no upper age restrictions, minimum is 21 years old. We have lads in the unit from early 20's to their late 50's, so long as one meets the requirement, no issue. Our agency is moving towards requiring the physical agility test annually, so we'll have to compy with that too.

Our employers get no break or concession for this, it's very much a case of "on your own time". However, by law anyone compelled to go to court (a suponea = a summons) has to be released to go but the employer is under no obligation to pay them. The "why" you are going to court could probably be argued, however we've never had an issue thus far and I've been with the department since 1998. The few times I've gone to court, my boss has been OK with it, they generally support what I do and I give them plenty of notice.

The full timers are generally pretty Ok with us. We have a few of the "why would you do this for free?" brigade, but generally they are very welcoming and supportive. They like the extra back up and manpower and are very much willing to hand us a call. We can also agree with a full timer to cover their shift, so it's an additional way for them to get a day off when manning gets tight. By State law we are absolutely forbidden to be paid for law enforcement, so we are not perceived as taking their OT.

On a shift, most of the full timers will happily hand us a call as we'll get stuck with the prisoner transport, paperwork and evidence processing. Most of us reserves are OK with it really, it's why we do this. Driving around for 8-10 hours on a slow day actually gets very boring even in a marked, armed police unit, so activity is usually welcomed by the reserves.

Some questions for you lot:

- Is the flouresent jacket the new uniform jacket for the Gardai? I see some in that and some in a blue jacket. Or is it a sector/traffic corps thing?

- Is the Asp now the standard Garda baton or can an officer choose from a variety of batons?

- What sort of annual continuing education or training is required of Gardai and Reserve Gardai?

Regards,

A

ZoneAlarm

irishrgr wrote: »

Some questions for you lot:

- Is the flouresent jacket the new uniform jacket for the Gardai? I see some in that and some in a blue jacket. Or is it a sector/traffic corps thing?

Flouresent Jacket is standard issue for all across the board, the blue jacket is the patrol jacket, issued to all as well.

- Is the Asp now the standard Garda baton or can an officer choose from a variety of batons?

Yes standard within all ranks, different lenght only can be choosen 21 or 26

- What sort of annual continuing education or training is required of Gardai and Reserve Gardai?

Regards,

On going CPD training but not all get it, so that is limited as well in araes.

A

Reply in bold above!

FGR

See? -This- is how all police officers should be kitted out. I still don't know whether Minister Ahern was joking when he called AGS the best equipped force in Europe.

Welcome IrishRGR!

irishrgr

Thanks,

I wondered about the hi-vis jackets, seems like they are worn even when not working any kind of traffic event, even on the warmer days as few as there are.

We wear a typical US style law enforcement style uniform, tan shirt, black trousers. Winter jacket is black, we have hi-vis traffic vests and a raincoat for working traffic events.

A

source

irishrgr wrote: »

Thanks,

I wondered about the hi-vis jackets, seems like they are worn even when not working any kind of traffic event, even on the warmer days as few as there are.

We wear a typical US style law enforcement style uniform, tan shirt, black trousers. Winter jacket is black, we have hi-vis traffic vests and a raincoat for working traffic events.

A

Some in management believe that high visibility policing means standing out a mile on the street. In my district there's a standing order that all members must wear it at all times. It's stupidity, sure the shop owners can see us and know we're around, but so do the scrotes and are usually long gone before we get a chance to get near them.

ZoneAlarm

All dublin city stations have to wear them day and night, as you say hi- visability, and its a directive from above to have them on going out.

And yes its like a beacon to the scrotes to get a shift on !!, so no sneeking up on them, as they are long gone before you get up or down the street.

brinks_18476

Irishgr,

There is a "vehicle gallery" thread on first page of this ES forum. Would be great to see some photos of your vehicle(s).

irishrgr

OK, I'll see if I can dig some up. We use a bog standard Ford Crown Victoria with a typical police package. Our highway lads (traffic corps) use Dodge Chargers with "stealth" markings (it's reflective but under normal light it belends into the grey of the car). Our SGT's use a Chevrolet Tahoe and starting next year as an agency we'll all begin transition to the police package Tahoe. It's lower to the ground, pursuit rated and has the usual police package.

As the reserve unit, we get the left-overs of the fleet. Our cars all have in excess of 100K miles, some over 200K, so none of us are looking forward to driving a Tahoe for several years. We have our own dedicated cars as our agency allows the fulltimers to take their patrol car home, so each deputy has their own dedicated car. Given the relative size of the agency, it's actually very efficient from a fleet management point of view and when you "own" the car, they are very much better looked after and maintained. We have 5 reserve cars we share amongst ourselves.

A

scholar007

irishrgr wrote: »

Yes, we are armed. I carry a Glock 17 pistol and a shotgun in the car. Less than lethal weapons are my Asp and pepper spray. I will be issued a Tazer in the future once I complete the training and the dept gets around to issuing them to the reserves. I drive a patrol car as part of my duties.

WTF??????????

You get to pack a Glock and a shotgun before you get a tazer?

Galway Elvis

Is there a dedicated training schedule for driving of Police vehicles before you start with the force?

Manic Moran

WTF??????????

You get to pack a Glock and a shotgun before you get a tazer?

Why wouldn't he?

When it comes down to it, a LEO in the US needs a sidearm, but doesn't need a Taser.

NTM

scholar007

Manic Moran wrote: »

Why wouldn't he?

When it comes down to it, a LEO in the US needs a sidearm, but doesn't need a Taser.

NTM

Judge: Officer please explain why you used the pump action and the bad guy is now full of holes?

LEO: Well Judge he was coming at me and even though I could have tazered him with no threat to him or me if I had a tazer that is, but I'm not allowed to carry one because I'm not trained, so I reached into the cruiser and grabbed the nearest thing to me which was the pump action.
:pac:

source

scholar007 wrote: »

Judge: Officer please explain why you used the pump action and the bad guy is now full of holes?

LEO: Well Judge he was coming at me and even though I could have tazered him with no threat to him or me if I had a tazer that is, but I'm not allowed to carry one because I'm not trained, so I reached into the cruiser and grabbed the nearest thing to me which was the pump action.
:pac:

Policing in the US is very different kettle of fish to here, mainly because everyone and their mum has a gun in the US. Compared to here where gun ownership is very heavily restricted.

Therefore a gun is basic kit for US police. Trying to think of it with an Irish mindset will just hurt your head but given the dangers they face they need access to firearms more than any other piece of kit.

irishrgr

Morning again, been away from home for a few days.......

During most police academies/courses there is a short driving course. Bear in mind, probably 99% of the population here has a driving license and it's a condition of hiring in all LEO jobs. Some agencies (such as mine) will have their own internal driving course as well, ours is a two day one, skid pan, pursuit driving, etc.

As regards the tazer, rememeber policing in the US evolved as an armed force from it's inception, so the police here have always carried guns. My agency has a policy that all deputies carry two less than lethal options, so I have a a asp and pepper spray. Once I get issued the tazer, I'll add that to the options. (Pepper is really only useful for dogs IMHO, remember, it works both ways).

Use of force, despite what the movies show, is heavily scrutinized. If we use any force, we have to fill out all sorts of forms and it is investigated by the dept to make sure it was the appropriate response to the threat. I'm a big proponent of the tazer despite there having been some issues with it, as the alternatives are hands, the "stick" or worse, deadly force. You match the force to the threat.

FWIW, part of tazer (and pepper spray) training is the officer has to get tazed (or sprayed), not especially looking forward to that one.

Do gardai have a special driving course that is sperate from the initial garda training?

A

scholar007

irishrgr wrote: »

Do gardai have a special driving course that is sperate from the initial garda training?

A

Yeah it's called driving with permission from the Super.

irishrgr

Ok, couldn't find the vehicle tag, so I'll just add one of our current patrol unit, the cab and the supposed future patrol units. Apparently the livery is still up for discussion........A

goldie fish

irishrgr wrote: »

Morning again, been away from home for a few days.......



Do gardai have a special driving course that is sperate from the initial garda training?

A

Yes.
No driver training whatsoever is done during initial garda training.
Gardai may be permitted to drive certain official vehicles(smaller saloon cars) if they posess a full driving licence for that class of vehicle with the authorisation of the Chief Superintendant(Chiefs Permission, on chiefs etc).
At any stage during a garda's career they may apply for a driving course. This will bring them up to the basic standard required of a police driver. It is a 2 week course. It is a long waiting list, as the only place the course is carried out is in "the depot" at Garda College, Templemore. Normally the standard car course has about 10 students.

Later on, Gardai who have completed the Driving course can apply for the advanced course, but priority here is given to members of the Traffic corps.

the above is based on what i have seen and heard, and not from personal experience of said course- I applied for chiefs, but didn't get it...

goldie fish

irishrgr wrote: »

Ok, couldn't find the vehicle tag, so I'll just add one of our current patrol unit, the cab and the supposed future patrol units. Apparently the livery is still up for discussion........A

can you check your email on that laptop?:rolleyes:

irishrgr

Yep, it has full interent access with the usual restricted sites (porn, youtube, gambmling, gaming, etc). We use it for:

- CAD Computer Assisted Dispatch, the system that links us to 911. Sends us call info, updates and has an IM capability with other units, controllers and we can message fire & EMS as well. We all share the same CAD system.

- NCIC/TCIC Natl Crime Info Center/Texas CIC. FBI & State system we use to run number plates, DL, check for warrants. Fairly comprehensive system, can run VIN's, State ID's, name/DOB search, weapon serial numbers, boat numbers and some aircraft numbers.

- TIBERON A commercial software application which we use to write/file reports, enter data & pictures, update cases, etc. Only paper we use is traffic tickets and a few state mandated forms.

- Laptop has the usual Office suite (Outlook, Word, etc) for official email for routine busniess, putting in for leave, time sheets, most of which is full timer related.

- Internet is very useful for looking up the penal code, traffic laws and various obscure laws, or just general information online, especially dealing with value of stolen property, pictures, addresses etc.

I don't do personal stuff on it though. We are subject to the Open Records Act, so I don't want to explain a personal email to some lawyer who is looking to discredit me in court, use the phone for that.

What access do the Gardai have to similar systems. I don't recall seeing computers in Garda cars. I assume PULSE is the Garda system, then?

A

source

Yeah it is, and it can only be accessed from the station so everything you've said in your post is done over radio with control.

Mr Simpson

source wrote: »

Yeah it is, and it can only be accessed from the station so everything you've said in your post is done over radio with control.

Bit of a joke really, how hard would it be to put a Laptop in each car with 3g internet

Terrontress

Given your photos, I presume that having 'Sherrif' on the side of the cars means that you work for the Sherrif's department rather than that being the car of the Sherrif?

I have never truly understood the concept of a Sherrif to be honest. When I was in New York I saw a sherrif's car. I am not sure how this relates to the NYPD.

irishrgr

Yeah, the computer in the car is brilliant. It plots your route to a call, you can see where other units are (to include fire & EMS if you like), what else is going on in the area. It's made our controllers life so much easier too, we run our own plates, DL's, persons etc, and it's all on the screen in front of you too. No more pausing to write down numbers dates, etc. Of course if you are out of the car, control will do all that for you if needs be too.

Yes, I'm a deputy sheriff for our county sheriffs department, and our sheriff has his own car too!!! :-)

Each state has sheriffs departments, and generally it is the law enforcement for that county. Each state has its subtleties (history, laws, etc), in Texas, the sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer for a give county and is legally charged with running the jail for that county as well. A sheriff is elected every four years, so it's a weird political office with law enforcement power and sizes range from large agencies like ours to tiny rural departments with a handful of deputies. By virtue of the size of the agency, we're pretty much removed from any of the politics of it all.

Having said that, any city in TX (which is a legal definition laid out in State law) can appoint its own police force should it choose to do so (and many do). At a practical level, the city PD will handle their jurisdiction & the sheriff will handle the rest of the county. Confusing, yes.....as there are also State law enforcement agencies and of course the Feds as well.

A colleague who worked for NYPD told me the County of New York is completely covered by NYC, so their sheriff runs the jail and has no law enforcement powers. It's a very unique situation to say the least....and coming from Ireland it took me ages to figure it all out. Honestly, having one law enforcement agency is soooo much simpler, however given the size of the US that would be inpractical I suppose.

Manic Moran

It's a very unique situation to say the least

San Francisco City and County are similar. Though the Sherrif has full law enforcement powers, in practice, the streets are left to SFPD and the jails to the Sherrif.

As a general rule, it's police for the cities, sherrifs for the counties, and troopers for the States.

First Aid Ireland

Fair play to you for dedicating so much time to being a reservist.

Can I ask why you don't do it full time? if you like it enough to do it for free, would it not make a great full time career?

irishrgr

Why do I do this.....there are days I ask myself that question when I'm wrestling with some stinky drunk :-)

I like the idea of helping the community, public service sort of thing and it evolved this way for me I suppose. If I lived out in the country, I'd probably volunteer as a firefighter or the likes. I recently retired after 25 years as a paramedic, so I don't really want to go back into another emergency service full time. I'm enjoying my nights and weekends again because I can choose when I work as a copper, and honestly, I enjoy it. We have a good bunch of lads and the work is interesting. I know it's a big commitment, but it works for me.

So, a big thanks to all those lads and lasses who are on shift today.

A

First Aid Ireland

irishrgr wrote: »

I recently retired after 25 years as a paramedic, so I don't really want to go back into another emergency service full time. I'm enjoying my nights and weekends again because I can choose when I work as a copper

I hear ya. I recently took on some extra out of hours commitments and I'm feeling the pain :P

Enjoy your down time. After 25 years you deserve it!

ZoneAlarm

irishrgr wrote: »

Why do I do this.....there are days I ask myself that question when I'm wrestling with some stinky drunk :-)

I like the idea of helping the community, public service sort of thing and it evolved this way for me I suppose. If I lived out in the country, I'd probably volunteer as a firefighter or the likes. I recently retired after 25 years as a paramedic, so I don't really want to go back into another emergency service full time. I'm enjoying my nights and weekends again because I can choose when I work as a copper, and honestly, I enjoy it. We have a good bunch of lads and the work is interesting. I know it's a big commitment, but it works for me.

So, a big thanks to all those lads and lasses who are on shift today.

A

Just like all the Reserve Garda do in Ireland, Uk, and else where they commit to doing their hours because its what they want to do, they work with a good bunch of guys/gals on their units, and it works for them.