On the necessary reserves

The state Department of Criminal Justice Services decreed last month that volunteer police officers must meet the same training requirements as their sworn, full-time counterparts, and there may be a safety reason for that.

After all, no one wants untrained crime-fighters running around the community, especially seeing as how they’re armed.

However, as sometimes happens when legislators make laws, the unintended negative consequences of this bureaucratic rule seem to outweigh the positives, at least in Waynesboro and Staunton.

The city police departments have suspended their reserve forces in light of the DCJS decision, which may not seem like a big deal to the layman. But Waynesboro’s 14 reserve officers donated nearly 1,500 hours of time last year, and the department was preparing to bring on 11 additional officers.

These folks are especially significant in River City, considering that five full-time police jobs have been frozen for budget reasons, and that two sworn officers are serving military deployments.

Reserve officers have full arrest powers in Waynesboro. Staunton’s volunteers don’t, but they still provide backup for full-timers and offer extra manpower. For free.

That’s the key here. Reserve officers not only serve the community, but also save taxpayers money, just as volunteer firefighters and medics do. In Harrisonburg, for example, reserve officers donate 5,000 hours each year, saving the city $90,000.

That department is still using its reserves, while Waynesboro and Staunton felt forced to shut down and avoid a potential legal risk.

They’re not just sitting idly by, however. Waynesboro Reserve Chief Reo Hatfield met with DCJS Director Garth Wheeler on Friday. The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police also is trying to negotiate with DCJS, an opinion from state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has been sought and state Sen. Mark Obenshain of Harrisonburg has introduced a bill that would call for DCJS to create training standards specific to reserve officers.

And it’s not like the reserves in Waynesboro and Staunton aren’t trained now. Both departments provide 40 hours of firearms instruction as well as training on other policies and procedures.

But the directive by DCJS means that reserves would have to attend a criminal justice program that is four months long. Many reserve officers wouldn’t be able to do that because they have other jobs, Hatfield noted. That academy training also is costly to the participating police departments, which one might say defeats the purpose of having the reserves, who, again, save localities money by donating their time.

Should this issue not get resolved, Waynesboro may be forced to hire additional officers, Capt. Kelly Walker said, or seek mutual assistance from the Virginia State Police, Staunton police and the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. In a time of economic uncertainty, governments should applaud those who want to volunteer to serve their neighbors, not discourage them by erecting bureaucratic roadblocks to that service.