Reserve LEO

[CAL]

As I talked about before, when I get out of the academy I will be looking to get on with an agency as a reserve officer somewhere but would like to get into an agency that has little differences between regular and reserve officers. For example, some departments only allow the deputies work with a full time officer, have more restrictive policies for reserves, etc. although TX makes no distinction between the authority and power of a reserve compared to a full time officer. Can anyone offer any advice, opinions, etc. into the life of a reserve here in TX?

[Broke Hoss]

I would say check around with the agencies near where you live. See what they offer and compare; talk with both full time & reserves. Get a feel of the morale within the dept and the working relationship between the fulltime & reserves. Look hard before you pick, don't just jump on the 1st ship. The choice you make can affect how you look at your future career & if bad enough could actually turn you away from a good career choice. I also say this becaue there is a pretty good chance that where you work as a reserve could be where you end up where you work full time.


My dept doesnt have a reserve program. But when I was in the army, most of the MP's worked reserve for Imperial County CA.

Good luck

[Gil Strickland]

I have been a Reserve Officer for 2 years now. The department im at gives me the keys to a car and says get after it. Thats not saying that all departments will do it though. A lot also depends on how you take care of business while you are going through your FTO. if you are able to prove early on that you can handle the responsibilities that go along with being by yourself then your department may turn you loose by yourself. Check around and see which agencies in your area have Reserve programs, as not all will, and go from there