| LAW AND ORDER: THE MAGAZINE FOR POLICE MANAGEMENT September 1996 Reserve Duties Vary in the Bay State Massachusetts Officers Wear Many Hats by Richard B. Weinblatt (pp. 15-16) |
Steeped in the history and tradition of colonial citizen-based policing, non-full-time officers
in Massachusetts are continuing to colonize new frontiers. The Bay State’s version of
reservists are referred to under a variety of names (such as reserve, auxiliary, special, and
intermittent) and locally run under a confusing patchwork of dictated training mandates and
duty assignments.
“We have 6,000 volunteer and part-time officers in this state who go from limited roles to
very sophisticated duties,” explained Massachusetts Reserve Police Federation president
Erick Hoffman. He was referring to the “home rule” concept which drives his state’s
governmental entities and provides for a very broad application of the reserve officer
concept.
Administrative personnel in agencies in Massachusetts also have the influence of very
strong union organizations. These unions vary the role of non-full-timers from jurisdiction
to jurisdiction. Chiefs and sheriffs do not have to contend with this factor in other parts of
the nation.
While the category’s classifications are loosely defined by the state, according to Hoffman it
is the local department that determines the role played by the officer. Almost all officers are
armed and most are able to work off duty details for pay.
According to Hoffman, auxiliary officers (who are volunteers 90% of the time) are under the
old civil defense or emergency management model and have authority only while on duty
and called out at the discretion of the chief of police or emergency management director.
Special officers have an even more varied role, depending on the agency. The chief again
determines their duties and whether they have authority off duty. Some towns have
auxiliaries who are also sworn in as specials.
Reserve of “permanent intermittent” officers are under civil service and are paid. They take
the civil service exam and are placed on the civil service list. Seasonal specials differ in
that they are appointed on a yearly basis and are paid during the summer months.
The Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Council offers a reserve/intermittent training
course, which can be taken by any of the categories at the option of the chief. It’s a
confusing system to outsiders looking in, yet it seems to work for the law enforcers of
Massachusetts.
“The program is great and saves the town $200,000 a year,” said Rockland Police
Department chief Kevin M. Donovan. The 30 full-time officer agency located 20 miles south
of Boston uses two categories of officers.
The 14 part-time officers are called specials, are civil servants and are similar to full-time
officers in that they work patrol. They have full police powers and can work road
construction jobs, dances, and nightclubs to earn extra income at the rate of $33.00 an
hour.
The 15 auxiliaries, which is anticipated to go up to 25, serve a one-year probation period
prior to being appointed specials. The uniforms for the auxiliary and special officers are
different from the regular officers. The patch for both officers states “Special Police” and
the two Crown Victoria cruisers state “Rockland Aux. Police.”
Donovan, who started his career as a reserve/intermittent officer in 1974, said that the
caliber of people in his auxiliary/special officer program has risen over the last three years,
which has aided in relations with the union.
Chief Thomas E. Burke of West Springfield, MA, echoed his Rockland counterpart’s
sentiments in stating that his special officers make a difference. The 81 full-time officer
agency has 70 specials to work the 17-square-mile town located 90 miles west of Boston.
“We hire another 60 specials during the Big E (Eastern States Exposition) to work for
$14.00 an hour on three shifts in what amounts to be a small city,” the chief explained. He
said that the 17-day event taxes his agency and the specials provide police services for
over one million visitors to the exposition.
The Big E pays the specials and a local dealership loans minivans to patrol the grounds.
He said that additional help is sworn in a week before the event.
Finding themselves in a similar boat, only this time for the whole summer, is the 91 full-time
officer Barnstable Police in Cape Cod, where the population swells from 43,000 to 110,000
in the summer. Responsible for 64 square miles and seven villages (including the tony
enclaves of Hyannis and Hyannis Port), administrative sergeant Richard L. Howard said
they could not do it without the addition of 21 seasonal officers who assist with walking
beats and traffic control, as well as with the three marine patrol units.
Howard said that the seasonals, who are paid $10.00 an hour, come back year after year
from June 1 to September 13 to help with 38,000 calls for police service. They are folks
such as criminal justice students and mature schoolteachers who have time in the summer
to work Cape Cod’s ritzy law enforcement beat.
Howard said that the Barnstable Police Department makes sure that the seasonal officers
get over 100 hours of training and are reserve/intermittent certified. West Springfield’s
Burke said that many small towns aren’t prepared to meet the liability concerns head on
and that his agency trains extensively. His specials attend the regional academy at
Agawam, MA, for 16 weeks at night and a few Saturdays. They also get 40 hours of in-
service training annually.
Rockland also ensures Massachusetts state certification through the 200-hour
reserve/intermittent program at the Plymouth Police Academy, which is held for 20 weeks at
night and covers the usual fare including firearms. That’s particularly important to Rockland’
s Donovan as he pointed out that his officers are in the process of switching from Glock .
9mm to Glock .40 caliber handguns.
Donovan said that to get to the training (and ultimately to the streets of Rockland), the
prospective part-time law enforcer fills out a detailed 25-page application. A background
investigation is conducted, including a credit check. A pre-screening auxiliary oral board
takes place with a chief’s interview following. Barnstable has a similar gauntlet of
applications with oral boards and medical checkups following.
With the Massachusetts Reserve Law Enforcement Federation’s figure of 6,000 citizens
involved in law enforcement, the Bay State ranks as one of the highest states in the nation
for reserve type policing. Hoffman, who oversees a membership of 1,500, reflected on the
large numbers: “We fully expect that the reserve concept will continue to grow in
Massachusetts.”
Richard B. Weinblatt, the author of the book “Reserve Law Enforcement in the United
States,” is a full-time officer in the southwestern U.S. and a regular contributor to Law and
Order.
in Massachusetts are continuing to colonize new frontiers. The Bay State’s version of
reservists are referred to under a variety of names (such as reserve, auxiliary, special, and
intermittent) and locally run under a confusing patchwork of dictated training mandates and
duty assignments.
“We have 6,000 volunteer and part-time officers in this state who go from limited roles to
very sophisticated duties,” explained Massachusetts Reserve Police Federation president
Erick Hoffman. He was referring to the “home rule” concept which drives his state’s
governmental entities and provides for a very broad application of the reserve officer
concept.
Administrative personnel in agencies in Massachusetts also have the influence of very
strong union organizations. These unions vary the role of non-full-timers from jurisdiction
to jurisdiction. Chiefs and sheriffs do not have to contend with this factor in other parts of
the nation.
While the category’s classifications are loosely defined by the state, according to Hoffman it
is the local department that determines the role played by the officer. Almost all officers are
armed and most are able to work off duty details for pay.
According to Hoffman, auxiliary officers (who are volunteers 90% of the time) are under the
old civil defense or emergency management model and have authority only while on duty
and called out at the discretion of the chief of police or emergency management director.
Special officers have an even more varied role, depending on the agency. The chief again
determines their duties and whether they have authority off duty. Some towns have
auxiliaries who are also sworn in as specials.
Reserve of “permanent intermittent” officers are under civil service and are paid. They take
the civil service exam and are placed on the civil service list. Seasonal specials differ in
that they are appointed on a yearly basis and are paid during the summer months.
The Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Council offers a reserve/intermittent training
course, which can be taken by any of the categories at the option of the chief. It’s a
confusing system to outsiders looking in, yet it seems to work for the law enforcers of
Massachusetts.
“The program is great and saves the town $200,000 a year,” said Rockland Police
Department chief Kevin M. Donovan. The 30 full-time officer agency located 20 miles south
of Boston uses two categories of officers.
The 14 part-time officers are called specials, are civil servants and are similar to full-time
officers in that they work patrol. They have full police powers and can work road
construction jobs, dances, and nightclubs to earn extra income at the rate of $33.00 an
hour.
The 15 auxiliaries, which is anticipated to go up to 25, serve a one-year probation period
prior to being appointed specials. The uniforms for the auxiliary and special officers are
different from the regular officers. The patch for both officers states “Special Police” and
the two Crown Victoria cruisers state “Rockland Aux. Police.”
Donovan, who started his career as a reserve/intermittent officer in 1974, said that the
caliber of people in his auxiliary/special officer program has risen over the last three years,
which has aided in relations with the union.
Chief Thomas E. Burke of West Springfield, MA, echoed his Rockland counterpart’s
sentiments in stating that his special officers make a difference. The 81 full-time officer
agency has 70 specials to work the 17-square-mile town located 90 miles west of Boston.
“We hire another 60 specials during the Big E (Eastern States Exposition) to work for
$14.00 an hour on three shifts in what amounts to be a small city,” the chief explained. He
said that the 17-day event taxes his agency and the specials provide police services for
over one million visitors to the exposition.
The Big E pays the specials and a local dealership loans minivans to patrol the grounds.
He said that additional help is sworn in a week before the event.
Finding themselves in a similar boat, only this time for the whole summer, is the 91 full-time
officer Barnstable Police in Cape Cod, where the population swells from 43,000 to 110,000
in the summer. Responsible for 64 square miles and seven villages (including the tony
enclaves of Hyannis and Hyannis Port), administrative sergeant Richard L. Howard said
they could not do it without the addition of 21 seasonal officers who assist with walking
beats and traffic control, as well as with the three marine patrol units.
Howard said that the seasonals, who are paid $10.00 an hour, come back year after year
from June 1 to September 13 to help with 38,000 calls for police service. They are folks
such as criminal justice students and mature schoolteachers who have time in the summer
to work Cape Cod’s ritzy law enforcement beat.
Howard said that the Barnstable Police Department makes sure that the seasonal officers
get over 100 hours of training and are reserve/intermittent certified. West Springfield’s
Burke said that many small towns aren’t prepared to meet the liability concerns head on
and that his agency trains extensively. His specials attend the regional academy at
Agawam, MA, for 16 weeks at night and a few Saturdays. They also get 40 hours of in-
service training annually.
Rockland also ensures Massachusetts state certification through the 200-hour
reserve/intermittent program at the Plymouth Police Academy, which is held for 20 weeks at
night and covers the usual fare including firearms. That’s particularly important to Rockland’
s Donovan as he pointed out that his officers are in the process of switching from Glock .
9mm to Glock .40 caliber handguns.
Donovan said that to get to the training (and ultimately to the streets of Rockland), the
prospective part-time law enforcer fills out a detailed 25-page application. A background
investigation is conducted, including a credit check. A pre-screening auxiliary oral board
takes place with a chief’s interview following. Barnstable has a similar gauntlet of
applications with oral boards and medical checkups following.
With the Massachusetts Reserve Law Enforcement Federation’s figure of 6,000 citizens
involved in law enforcement, the Bay State ranks as one of the highest states in the nation
for reserve type policing. Hoffman, who oversees a membership of 1,500, reflected on the
large numbers: “We fully expect that the reserve concept will continue to grow in
Massachusetts.”
Richard B. Weinblatt, the author of the book “Reserve Law Enforcement in the United
States,” is a full-time officer in the southwestern U.S. and a regular contributor to Law and
Order.
| For contracting of articles, media commentary, or other matters, contact: richard@policearticles.com |
| policearticles.com home of published articles written by Richard B. Weinblatt |
Located just North of Orlando,
Florida, Richard B. Weinblatt
provides professional article
writing services and expert
commentary for the media on a
variety of criminal justice topics
Florida, Richard B. Weinblatt
provides professional article
writing services and expert
commentary for the media on a
variety of criminal justice topics
| FAST FACT "Reserve Reports" by Richard B. Weinblatt, a regular column in LAW AND ORDER: THE MAGAZINE FOR POLICE MANAGEMENT, ran for a decade (1991-2001). |
| FAST FACT Richard Weinblatt's March-April 1997 SHERIFF MAGAZINE article "Sheriffs Take on Rural Patrol Challenge" featured him on the cover. |
| FAST FACT The 250+ page book "Reserve Law Enforcement in the United States" by Richard B. Weinblatt, was published in 1993 |
This website contains criminal justice articles written by former Police Chief and Criminal Justice Professor/Police Academy Manager Richard B. Weinblatt |