(From one of our readers, Gregg Peterson) Good afternoon,
Just wanted to pass on a story about reserves with Los Angeles Police Department that aired on NPR this morning. It is a good read, but if you have a chance to listen it is also a good radio story. I just got the link today from the Harris County (TX) Sheriff's Reserve Command. Thanks for an informative website.
May 19, 2011
The new budget for Los Angeles would cut $100 million from the city's police department. Officials hope to save the money by granting less overtime. And one way to do that is through the use of volunteers.
The Los Angeles Police Department already has more than 700 unpaid workers in its Reserve Corps. These volunteers save the city about $5 million each year.
For anyone interested in becoming a reserve officer, the first step is the orientation meeting.
Lt. Craig Herron runs LAPD's reserve unit. At a recent gathering, he surveys the room and asks how many want to join the reserves in order to become full-time officers. A few raise their hands. "The rest of you I assume always wanted to be a cop but you found an opportunity to have fame and fortune elsewhere and said, 'You know what, I can still be a reserve officer — and still do my full-time job,' " Herron says.
Those in attendance include a law student and a bank teller. Vincent Lavares, 42, works in post-production for film and television.
"Actually, I'm fulfilling a childhood dream," he says, "as well as giving back to the community."
That's what 34-year-old teacher Arcelia Ponce had in mind when she joined the reserves two years ago. A Kevlar vest pulls her uniform tight across her shoulders, and her hand rests lightly on her police belt. As an entry-level reserve, Ponce must work alongside a full-time officer, and her assignments are usually special events like festivals and art walks. Still, she says, "I think it's equally as dangerous; we're all out there on the field. I wear the same badge and have the same gun, same uniform; I look just the same, like the other officers."
A former attorney, police volunteer Marty Greenblatt uses his legal experience to help the department fight white-collar crime.
Across town, Marty Greenblatt has a desk in the squad room at LAPD's Pacific Division. He's wearing a crisp blue shirt with a red-striped tie, and a gold detective badge rides low on his hips. Before becoming a reserve detective, Greenblatt, 72, was an attorney.
"LAPD has a very enlightened attitude toward age," he says. "They will not stop you from going into the program as a result of your age, nor will they cut you any breaks."
Greenblatt did five months at the academy and is qualified in firearms, but it's his 40 years working as a corporate attorney that he brings to this job investigating white-collar crime.
"I file my own cases with the district attorney and I testify at the prelims at trials," Greenblatt says. "I get arrest warrants; I get search warrants."
Reserve officers undergo the same thorough application process and extensive training as full-time officers, says Lt. Herron.
"By the time you've become a level one police officer," he says, "you've gone through over a thousand hours of training, and at that point, they have as much peace officer authority as I do, 24 hours a day."
According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, more than 2,100 police departments nationwide have volunteer programs.
For the full story, go the following link at NPR:
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/19/136436405/in-tight-times-l-a-relies-on-volunteer-police
