The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A plan to strengthen hiring standards for volunteer police officers has divided local officials, with some saying the plan could backfire on them.
The proposal would force volunteer officers to meet the same hiring standards as their full-time counterparts.
Supporters say reserve officers would gain more public support and shield departments from lawsuits. Opponents say higher standards would hurt efforts to recruit volunteer officers and create a financial burden for the departments that pay the bill for training.
“It’s already hard enough to get volunteers in today’s age,” said Gene Ellis, police chief in DeWitt. “You’re going to deter volunteers when you start imposing more requirements on them.”
The proposal calls for medical exams, personality and psychological evaluations, written exams and physical fitness tests. The rules only would apply to new reserves.
The higher standards were proposed by a state reserve officers group and the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy is talking to police departments and sheriff’s offices this month for input. A public hearing at the academy is scheduled Dec. 30. A decision could come by February.
Douglas Coziahr, a reserve deputy in Pottawattamie County, said the new standards could lead to a certification process for reserve officers.
“Our concern is that if we can’t meet that criteria, should we have people out there risking their lives and then risk being a liability for the department?” said Coziahr, vice president of the Iowa State Reserve Law Officers Association. “It’s that minute cost that’s a lot cheaper than a lawsuit liability on the department.”
About 1,760 armed reserve officers in Iowa have the same rights as their full-time counterparts. Dozens more are unarmed, state officials said.
Reserve officers already have age, education, citizenship and physical requirements. Criminal background checks also are required.
State law requires reserve officers to complete four years of training, but requirements vary by department. Armed reserve officers must complete the same weapons training classes required of full-timers.
Most police and sheriff’s departments pick up the tab for basic training, which is estimated at $800 per officer.
Some reserve officers pay up to $1,000 for their own uniforms, bulletproof vests, guns and other equipment. Some departments absorb those costs.
State law requires that reserve officers be paid at least $1 per year and receive medical benefits and insurance.
Ellis took issue with the proposed rules.
“You’re going to say, ‘Basically you have to do everything a full-time officer does, but, by the way, you’re not going to get paid one red cent to do it.”’
Arlen Ciechanowski, assistant director of the law enforcement academy, said the number of reserve officers has doubled in the past five years. They have been called on more as departments look to reduce costs and as more full-time officers have been called to active military duty, he said.
Forest City Police Chief Douglas Book said concerns about cost are outweighed by public safety.
Book’s department already requires psychological and physical fitness tests for volunteers.
“We give these reserves the same authority to go out and do the job that a full-timer does,” Book said. “Because of the situation with firearms, it’s imperative that we know their psychological level.”