Auxiliaries?

[Brendon]

Many Police Departments in the New York area have Auxiliary Officers. My question is does your Department have Auxiliary Officers, and what capacity do they work in? Do they work full on Police work like the LASD who are full-time Peace Officers, or do they mostly run Security and Parade Details like Nassau County with Part Time Peace Officer status?

[retdetsgt]

We have reserves who only do side stuff like parade duty, building checks, etc. Thankfully, our union has fought tooth and nail to keep them from taking the place or doing the duty of any full time, paid officer.

The state grants them full police power, but we limit what they do. A few smaller depts around here use them in place of someone doing it for a living.

[Brendon]

If they have full police status, do they carry firearms as well?

[PJMurphy]

Generally, Auxiliary officers do not have full police powers and are used for various low risk assignments. They are to be trained for what they do (CALEA standards) but are not the same as sworn officers. Those agencies not concerned with maintaining "professional" status or recognition will "abuse" auxiliary officers by having them perform the same essential functions as sworn officers. Part-time officers are sworn members, usually employed in a full-time capacity elsewhere or are retired from another agency. They do everything a full-time officer does and must have the same training and certification but don't work 40 hrs a week.

CALEA stands for the Commission on Law Enforcement Accreditation the National body that sets the standards for professional recognition of police agencies.

[retdetsgt]

If they have full police status, do they carry firearms as well?

Yes. But as just stated, there might be a difference between reserves and auxiliaries.

[Cat_Doc]

And don't forget the Posse out here in the southwest!

[mcsap]

We do not have auxiliaries , reserve or part-time officers.

[vacop4274]

Your lucky mcsap, I used to have to deal with reserves taking overtime and other shifts from us when it became available. Glad when I switched reserves/aux/part time were not in the mix!!!!

[retdetsgt]

Your lucky mcsap, I used to have to deal with reserves taking overtime and other shifts from us when it became available. Glad when I switched reserves/aux/part time were not in the mix!!!!

That's why I'm glad our union is so hardheaded about them. They don't take radio calls, they don't do anything we do. I'm not sure how many we have, but you can work at my Dept for years and never see one. Which is probably good, because when the S.O. here had them, there were near fistfights between the regular deputies and reserves who were working for nothing. I think part of that was because we didn't utilize reserves and made more money even though they had higher education requirements at that time. Hard to rationalize higher pay when you have people willing to do your job for nothing.

If I were king of police, they'd go away. If people want police protection, they'd have to pay for it like they do every other service they get.

[Brendon]

Yes, I forgot about the difference between Auxiliaries and Reserves! I knew I was missing that word.

The Department in my area has no reserves, but has Auxiliaries in accordance with the 1951 NYS Defense Emergency Act. Basically, they work traffic control at accidents, they observe and report crimes seen by them, and they respond to Aided calls, and of course, work parades. They have bulletproof vests, straight batons, handcuffs, a flashlight, and pepperspray. Some of the older ones are armed since they've been grandfathered in.

You rarely if ever see them. The largest force of them I've ever seen is when they worked a security detour at a University Obama was visiting in my area before he was elected into Office.