The Haines Borough Police Department is resurrecting its volunteer reserve officer program after more than a decade of dormancy.
The department is starting to train its first reserve officer candidate, Gary Hinkle, said manager David Sosa. “He will be riding and observing over the next few months,” Sosa said.
Reserve officers accompany department officers and help with arrests, traffic enforcement and investigations, crowd and traffic control at events, and emergencies. They also carry firearms and wear uniforms like department officers.
The primary difference between reserve and department officers is that reserve officers are not paid and must be accompanied by a certified department officer.
Police chief Bill Musser said he decided to reactivate the reserve program because of feedback he received from residents and staff during his hiring process.
“Everybody wanted to see the reserves come back when I was initially going through my selection process. It is something that has remained a theme,” Musser said.
Musser said he wants to “start slow” by training one reserve officer and see how much time and money it costs the department.
“I do not have a good idea on annual costs at this time, in part as it depends on the number of reserves. So starting with one gives me a measure to gauge by,” Musser said. “As to the number of reserves the limit will be on how many we can train, but we could be looking at as many as 10 within a couple of years.”
The borough’s budget for fiscal year 2015, which started July 1, allocated $500 for the reserve program.
Though reserve officers aren’t paid, they are provided with training, uniforms, weapons like firearms and tasers, and other equipment. Borough code also states reserve officers will be provided workers’ compensation insurance.
Former police chief Greg Goodman, who worked as chief for 17 years before retiring in 2008, said the reserve program died out around 2000 or 2001.
“We stopped it for lack of interest. There wasn’t a date we selected to shut it down. It just kind of petered out,” Goodman said. “We advertised it locally in the paper and we got no response.”
At its height, the reserve program had about four officers during Goodman’s tenure, he said.
While he acknowledged the program has “some value,” Goodman said he isn’t necessarily in favor of restoring it. “I have never really been a big fan of reserve programs, because it takes a lot of time and energy and effort and money for what little you get out of it, especially in a small department,” he said.
“When you have such a small department and you assign somebody as a reserve officer trainer or liaison, it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort,” Goodman added.
Still, the program had its benefits. “It was nice to have two people in a car, especially on a swing shift or a graveyard shift. It’s comforting when you’re the only officer on duty to have someone with you to help,” Goodman said.
In addition to providing back-up and helping with paperwork, Musser said the reserve force would provide a recruiting pool for the borough down the road, should a department officer job open up.
Reserve officers will complete field training and have to pass a background check, Musser said.
Musser began his police career working as a reserve officer in Meridian, Idaho.