Trust_big

A Success Story.

Counties in the western states cover vast tracts of land. This means the jurisdictions cover hundreds of square miles, taxing the resources of any local or state law enforcement agency. Throughout the year, agencies find their resources spread even more thinly because of injuries, vacations, retirements and seasonal activities. To manage staffing requirements without breaking budgets, many sheriff’s offices augment their full-time deputies with reservists. Pennington County, South Dakota is one example of such an agency.

You might not think a city like Rapid City, the county hub of Pennington County, would need to augment the staff, but you’d be wrong. The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for providing criminal investigations, prisoner transport, patrol duties, SAR and evictions, just to name just a few. It’s also contracted to be the primary law enforcement entity for several towns in the county. The summer months see the 100,000-plus population swell with the nearly three million tourists visiting Mount Rushmore, the Central States Fair and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. These events and attractions tax the full-time staff of all local and state agencies. Throughout the year the deputies will also support parades, football games and hunting seasons — and all increase the population in Pennington County and require more manpower.

Uniforms for Pennington County, SD reserves are the same as those
for full-time officers, but with a “Reserve” rocker added to the badge.

Reaching Out

Pennington County is proactive in their recruiting efforts. From what I’ve seen and heard, this is rare. Many agencies rely on internal referrals as their primary method to maintain staffing requirements for reserves. Pennington County Sheriff’s Reserve uses job fairs, internal referrals, social media and job boards as well as word-of-mouth. One thing making recruiting reserve deputies easier in Pennington County is they are paid for some of their details.

Pennington’s reserve deputies are paid for supporting seasonal events such as Sturgis and the Central States Fair. Paying the deputies to support these large events gives the reservists a financial incentive to serve because it offsets the unpaid training and non-seasonal volunteer duty hour requirements. Another incentive is they would be considered an internal hire should a reserve apply to become a full-time sworn deputy. In today’s competitive job market, this is a major perk.

To become a reservist the applicant must be 21, a high school graduate or hold a GED and have no felonies or domestic violence convictions. Applicants must pass a general knowledge and physical fitness test. The next step is to pass an interview to become a conditional reservist. These new hires are given a physical and mental evaluation and a background check. If this sounds like the requirements for full-time officers at most sworn agencies, it’s because it’s the same. Once fully trained, Pennington’s reservists are real deputies, just working part time and with some limited authority.

Training alongside full-time deputies helps to build unit cohesion
and trust among all the deputies on the Pennington County, SD Sheriff’s Office.

Basic Training

The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office runs its own reserve training. This training is 110 hours, covering all the basics like ethics, standards, jurisdictions, firearms, on-duty responsibilities, law and the limitations of reserve authority. Training includes both formal class time and on-the-job training. All trainees go through the training so they know exactly what’s required and expected of them on duty, regardless of prior experience. As with other training academies, the new reservists are trained en-masse to ensure they’re all proficient, and understand policies and procedures. Reservist training follows the policies of the South Dakota State Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission. Upon completion of training, the commission certifies the reservists.

Once their training is completed, the reservists are assigned to the patrol division and required to work 96 hours a year or 8 hours a month. The monthly hours can be waved on a case-by-case basis for work or personal reasons, but each reservist must meet the state mandated 96 hours of training/duty time in order to maintain their state certification. Reserve deputies are required to attend 4-hour monthly training sessions covering material germane to their duties. They may also attend any training scheduled by the full-time deputies, helping to build unit cohesion and increase their skill level. This is a win-win for all parties, especially the citizens of Pennington County and visiting tourists because it gives them a highly trained, cohesive sheriff’s office.

Equipment

Pennington’s reserve deputies are equipped like their full-time counterparts right down to their issued sidearm, the Glock 22. The only uniform items not supplied for the deputies by the county are black t-shirts, boots and a watch. When you encounter a reserve deputy the only item distinguishing them from a full-time deputy is the badge; which adds “reserve” to the title rocker.

Reserves work with full-time deputies, making each unit a 2-officer unit. Having 2-officer units makes the deputies safer on duty and will hopefully reduce assaults on the deputies. With the size of the territory (over 2,700 square miles) backup could be several minutes — or longer — away. This makes the deputies and the public safer and provides better service to the citizens of Pennington County.

Pennington’s reserves may also assist full-time deputies in warrant service, investigations and other activities like water rescue. Working side-by-side with full-time deputies, the reserves have full arrest authority. The severity of the crime determines whether the reservist or full-time deputy makes the arrest.

Something rare for any agency, a SWAT sniper who’s a reserve officer.
Jeff Hoffman (Black Hills Ammo) trains with the full-time deputies of the SWAT team.

Tenure And Talent

Thanks to being integrated and valued members of their agency, the reserve deputies work at the department for many years, averaging 5 to 10 years tenure. Of those reservists who leave quickly, they almost always have left to accept full-time LE positions. Pennington authorizes 15 reserve deputies. As of this writing, six more qualified applicants are about to start through the training pipeline to ensure proper staffing.

Other agencies using reserve officers could look at the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office for tips about retention and unit cohesion. Paying them, even modestly for large seasonal events gives reserves incentive to join, helping to defray costs. Allowing reserves to train with the full-time staff builds trust and cohesion. Both of these will break the barrier that often exists between the “regulars” and the “reserves.”

How much trust is put on reserves in Pennington County? One of their SWAT snipers is a reserve and is none other than Jeff Hoffman of Black Hills Ammo. Granted jurisdictional limits are set by the regulations of your agency and state, but wouldn’t it be good if your agency’s full-time staff had such a solid working relationship with the reserve unit? There may always be a bit of prejudice, but training and trust can overcome it. Just look at the success of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.
By Scott Smith

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July 2013

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