In a great story about a new reserve officer ready for a new second job, John Walker, a reporter with the Duncan Banner, writes about DPD's reserve program. Duncan Police Lt. Chris Ray said that a reserve officer’s main responsibility is to back up full-time officers. “Many ride along with a full-time officer,” Ray said. “Some have their own vehicle.”
When an officer is called to a situation, instead of taking two vehicles off the road, only one needs to be sent if a reserve officer is in a vehicle with a full-time officer, Ray said. A little less than a year ago, one Duncan man started his journey into the Duncan Police Department Reserves.
Calvin Kirkland moved to Duncan with his three children and wife about four years ago from Texas. The daily commute, however, has largely prevented Kirkland from becoming involved in the community. Becoming a reserve officer will hopefully change that, he said. Kirkland has always been passionate about law enforcement, as evidenced by his decision at one time to pursue a college degree in criminal justice, but he was hesitant about joining the reserves.
That feeling, however, did not last long once his friend and fellow reserve officer in training, Mike Williams, told Kirkland about the program and people here.
The process to become a reserve officer is a long trek, he said. First, he filled out an application. Then he was interviewed by a panel of Duncan officers. If an applicant passes the interview, the Duncan Police Department then sends the applicant out for a psychological evaluation. Only after the candidate passes the evaluation does the department send him or her to the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) to be Oklahoma certified.
“Duncan takes extra care of their reserves and treats us like we’re one of their own,” Kirkland said. “The coolest thing is knowing there’s a group of people at the Police Department who put their own time into this and into me because they want to help me.”
For more, check out the article at the Duncan Banner's website:
http://www.duncanbanner.com/local/local_story_218110333.html
