RESERVE OFFICERS

First, I want to say this is one of the most positive and helpful L.E. websites I've read. I am a full time Police Officer with a small police dept in Central Florida with 20 years on the job. I have worked as a patrol officer, detective, and street crimes. I was called to active duty in the military and currently serving stateside. I am considering retiring from the police dept and applying to your reserve program until released from the military. At that time, I would like to go full time. My question is this: 1. How difficult is it to be hired full time and is being in the military held against you (I know the official position of any L.E. dept is that it isn't but in many agencies it is). 2. I read the posts about BEI (Is that your version of an investigations section?) and patrol. When you apply for employment, do you request which section you want to work for or is it a case of being there for a set amount of time prior to selection? 3. I saw on your website the type of equipment you are issued (boat, etc). What is your primary duties? Is it protecting the environment from dumping etc or ensuring compliance with park rules and state laws such as hunting? I appreciate the feedback.

Regarding my earlier post, disregard the question about BEI, I found the answer in one of the other posts.

If you have no skeletons in your closet you shouldn't have a problem being hired full time. No, being in the military will not be held against you. Park Patrol and BEI are 2 different bureaus and when you apply, you indicate which one you are applying for. BEI does environmental crimes investigations. Park patrol is primarily responsible for public safety and resource protection in the state parks. FPP also enforces environmental laws outside of the parks ( things such as littering and visible emissions from vehicles, etc.). Your duties in the FPP will vary greatly depending on where you are stationed. Some of the larger parks have poaching/ hunting problems, some have water issues that require a lot of boat patrol, some have traffic issues, some have all of the above.
You are basically a trooper, deputy, and conservation officer all rolled into one. That is what makes it such a great job. Your day to day activities can be very diverse, depending on where you are stationed. It keeps you from getting bored.

Thank you for the info. I don't have any skeletons that I'm aware of. I was reading up on your agency and it appears you have less than 100 sworn officers. Do you have much of a turnover rate or is hiring few and far apart? Additionally regarding your reserve, are reserve officers fully certified meaning they have full arrest powers at all times or is it only when accompanied by a certified officer from your agency?

Looking at your LEO and military experience, you look like a 10-8 guy. In good conscience I’d have to warn you to think twice before jumping the ship you’re on to come here. If you can stand keeping a low profile, being micro-managed, doing what you’re told and keeping your mouth shut, this really is a neat place to be. But, as I said, you look like a 10-8 guy. If you can’t shake being a pro-active LEO, you’re probably find yourself being very frustrated and on the carpet on a regular basis.
Good luck

I don't know where he works, but in our district there is no micro-managing or anything else negative that he mentioned.
We are extremely pro-active as opposed to reactive.
Don't listen to the disgruntled ones. People like that are not happy no matter where they go. It is a great job, and like any other ..it is what you make it.

I’m not sure where “Another old-timer” works, but it's probably behind a desk in Tallahassee and he’s probably one of the micro-managers I was talking about. And who said I wasn’t happy? I’m happy as a clam here. I’m glad to be just cruisin. We’ve got some good officers and mid-level supervisors. I agree with old-timer that this is a great job. But that's only if you can sit on your hands and keep your mouth shut while desk-jockeys in Tallahassee who don’t have half your experience and knowledge tell you how to do your job. I've trained myself to do that. Can you? I’d hate to see a guy who's used to being an aggressive street level LEO in a municipal agency get conned into thinking he’s going do that here without getting into trouble. I'm sorry Old-timer thinks I’m being negative by telling you the truth.

I've been a very active officer during my career. At my agency, particularly under the previous administration, this was frowned on. I still do my job and I am active, but I have learned to tone it down. From what I've read about your agency including the posts, I believe I would enjoy working with you. Regarding my earlier post, what is the authority of your reserve officers? In some jurisdictions, reserves only have arrest authority while in the presence or control of a fulltime officer. In other jurisdictions, they have full authority. FYI, I do appreciate the responses I have received.

Reserve officers, once they have gone through FTO, patrol and act just like full time DEP officers.

In regard to the authority of reserve officers in DEP (and in FL), id like to add my two cents.

In Florida, there are two types of Officers with respect to reserves:

-Reserves- A reserve officer is an officer who has completed the CJSTC academy and retains all authority, protections and immunities as a fulltime officer. They have completed the same state mandated training academy and are fully sworn. Depending on the agency, reserves are capable of doing everything a fulltime officer is. The only exception is that they are not compensated. Part time officers also fall within this category, accept that they are paid hourly.

-Auxiliary- An auxiliary officer is an officer who has completed approximately 200 hours of CJSTC training, usually via videotape, correspondance or Community College training. They are not sworn, but can carry a weapon. They must be accompanied by (or in direct communication with) a fulltime or reserve officer. Their uniforms usually differ significantly than other officers.

FHP has a very active Aux. unit. They volunteer their time by doing limited scope patrol (LSP), which is patrolling for disabled vehicles and backing up troopers, and also crowd control. They cannot be compensated.

These designations apply to all departments within the state of Florida. I have been a reserve, part time and full time officer and, as such, have a little insight on this topic.

DEP has a reserve program, best I can tell, which means an applicant would have to be LEO certified through a normal academy. Good luck and take care.