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Modifications to the Reserve Program
As many of you have seen by now, the Department is in the process of revitalizing the Police Reserve Corps. As the Mayor and Department leaders said during the recent news conference, several initiatives will be implemented to update and enhance the Reserve Corps, while at the same time positively improving morale and recruitment. While the changes will encompass many areas, one change involves adding another category of reserve officer, the Level II Reserve Officer.
Historically, the Department has employed three types of reserve officers, Specialists, Technical and Line Reserve Officers. Specialist Reserve Officers are volunteers who possess special skills that benefit the Department. Technical Reserve Officers (Level III) are sworn peace officers with limited police authority, generally work in uniform and are unarmed. Line Reserve Officers (Level I) are sworn peace officers with full powers of arrest. Line reserves are armed and generally work in patrol assignments, but may work in many other areas of the Department. Examples of assignments where line reserves have worked are Area Vice Units, Metropolitan Division and the Police Academy.
As a result of training requirements mandated by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), all reserve officer training is being modified to a modular system that will include three reserve officer levels. In this system, reserve officer training is progressive, beginning with Level III (205 hours of total training), followed by Level II (250 hours of additional training) and ending with Level I (340 hours of additional training). Accordingly, POST has classified all sworn reserve officers as Level III, Level II or Level I Reserve Officers. Effective immediately, the Department will classify its reserve officers according to POST guidelines.
Specialist Reserve Officers
Specialist Reserve Officers are volunteers and not sworn police officers. They have no powers of arrest, do not wear uniforms or carry weapons and are not required to attend any Department training. Specialist Reserve Officers are individuals who possess special skills that benefit the Department (i.e. – physicians, financial consultants, etc).
Appropriate duties – Specialist Reserve Officers: Specialist Reserve Officers should be assigned to duties specific to their specialty. Commanding officers are reminded that Specialist Reserve Officers shall not be assigned to field duties. Doing so unnecessarily exposes the concerned Specialist Reserve Officer to potentially hazardous situations and the Department to civil liability.
Level III Reserve Officers
Level III Reserve Officers are the former equivalent to Technical Reserve Officers. Effective immediately, all Technical Reserve Officers are renamed Level III Reserve Officers. Level III Reserve Officers require 205 hours of academy training and may be assigned to limited support duties as outlined below and in the attached pages.
Appropriate duties – Level III Reserve Officers: Level III Reserve Officers are unarmed and may work in plainclothes or uniform. They are assigned to limited support duties which include the geographic area front desk, area detective divisions (inside/building assignment) or other support assignments where confrontational contacts with suspects or arrest situations are extremely unlikely. Commanding officers are advised to be aware of the limitation of Level III Reserve Officers and are cautioned not to assign them to any duty that would place them in a position to have to utilize force or make an arrest.
Level II Reserve Officers
On January 29, 2004, the Department began its first ever Level II Reserve Officer police academy class. Level II Reserve Officers require an additional 250 hours of academy training beyond that required of a Level III Reserve Officer. Level II Reserve Officers may be assigned to limited support duties and general law enforcement duties (patrol), provided they are supervised by another police officer that has completed the POST Basic Course of instruction. Level II Reserve Officers have powers of arrest while on duty only, are armed and generally wear uniforms. Effective immediately, the Department’s Level II Reserve Officer Program is established.
Appropriate duties – Level II Reserve Officers: A Level II Reserve Officer may perform any duty that a full-time police officer performs, provided the Chief of Police has granted approval. Level II Reserve Officers are usually engaged in general law enforcement duties (responding to radio calls, making arrests, traffic enforcement, etc.).
Department regulations mandate that, if engaged in general law enforcement duties, Level II Reserve Officers must work with and be supervised by a full-time police officer or a Certified Designated Level I Reserve Officer. (The Department defines a Certified Designated Level I Reserve Officer as a Level I Reserve Officer that has 2,000 or more hours of field experience).
If a Level II Reserve Officer is assigned to limited support duties, he or she may do so without supervision.
Level I Reserve Officers
Level I Reserve Officers are the former equivalent of Line Reserve Officers. Effective immediately, all Line Reserve Officers are renamed Level I Reserve Officers. Level I Reserve Officers require an additional 340 hours of academy training beyond that required of a Level II Reserve Officer. To become a Level I Reserve Officer, an individual is required to successfully complete a total of 730 hours of academy training. Additionally, these officers must also complete another 400 hours of field training. Level I Reserve Officers are armed and assigned to general law enforcement duties. Depending upon their level of experience, Level I Reserve Officers may have powers of arrest while on duty only, or 24-hour peace officer status (“designated” status) identical to the authority of a full-time police officer.
The Department currently employs two categories of Level I Reserve Officers:
- Designated Level I Reserve Officer – a Level I Reserve Officer who has completed basic academy training is automatically a designated reserve officer.
- Certified Designated Level I Reserve Officer - a Level I Reserve Officer who has completed basic academy training and has more than 2,000 hours and one year of field experience.
Appropriate duties – Level I Reserve Officers: A Level I Reserve Officer may perform any duty that a full-time police officer performs, provided the Chief of Police has granted approval. Level I Reserve Officers usually engage in general law enforcement duties (responding to radio calls, making arrests, traffic enforcement, etc). Level I Reserve Officers usually work as a partner to a full-time police officer. However, Certified Designated Level I Reserve Officers may work alone or with another reserve officer (Level I or II) while engaged in general law enforcement duties. Certified Designated Level I Reserve Officers may also supervise a Level III Reserve Officer engaged in limited support duties.
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Should anyone have any questions or concerns please contact Lieutenant Robert Edgar at (213) 485-4097.
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