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Thread: Part-time or Reserve Officers?

  1. #1
    Member 60167's Avatar
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    Part-time or Reserve Officers?

    Hey all,

    I have a decade of experience in police work. I left the job two years ago due to my spouse's ultra demanding and lucrative career situation. I was lucky enough to leave from a special assignment in good standing, on my own terms (from a dept standpoint), with a clean personnel file and no injuries. Now I'm flirting with a former employer about potentially returning as a part-time officer. This position doesn't really exist yet, and a lot of factors still need to be clarified and defined. I would be very careful about not putting myself in a situation where I would be taken advantage of.

    As much as I'd love to return to "how things were," no man crosses the same river twice, and all that. I am still constrained by a need for flexibility, which is why I had to leave in the first place. This position will likely be one where I cover vacancies in patrol shifts while full-timers are injured, at training etc. I realize that my vacancy will require me to attend training, a probationary period, field training from people with less experience than me. There's a chance I will be supervised by people with less tenure than I had. I'm okay with all that. I feel like I'm not done serving my community and this would be a happy compromise between full-time work and doing nothing at all.


    Who has done something like this?
    If you're not going to learn to use the front sight properly, don't bother with it. If pointing the gun, screaming "Ahhhhh!" and cranking on the trigger is all you can learn to do, work on doing that safely. -ToddG

  2. #2
    Site Supporter Trooper224's Avatar
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    Haven't done it, wouldn't do it. Once you walk away, stay walked away.
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  3. #3
    Site Supporter KevH's Avatar
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    Reserve positions are all but dead around here (California) thanks to POST requirements and stupid "Independent Contractor" (ride share) laws here.

    I can tell you in the past that we had officers (and sergeants, and LT's) that came back as reserves after they retired and it was pretty darn awkward for all parties involved.

    If you are going to do a unpaid reserve thing I would do it at a different agency than where you originally worked.

  4. #4
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    I worked as a part-time officer before being hired for a full-time position. Given the current climate, I would think hard about the risk (of crippling lawsuits, injury, criminal liability) vs the reward (scratching an itch?), especially if you don’t need a job.

  5. #5
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    "Job sharing" is not uncommon in our county police department. All the cases I've heard of involve parents, usually women, with child care issues. It usually entails two officers being assigned to the same shift who work two shifts weekly versus the standard four day workweek, effectively filling one slot. While it was discussed at my former employer, it was never implemented. Not having near as deep a bench as the county where there are multiple shifts and stations.
    While the whole idea seems like a pain in the cuff case to implement, it does allow people to deal with child care and stay in the profession, usually returning to fulltime status eventually.

    As you observe, they do have to meet qualification and training standards will job sharing.

  6. #6
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    A lot of this will depend on specific rules of your state licensing agency, along with the "culture" of your state/area regarding part time and/or reserve positions.
    "It's surprising how often you start wondering just how featureless a desert some people's inner landscapes must be."
    -Maple Syrup Actual

  7. #7
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    It all depends on your state laws and the agency. In CA, at larger agencies you have to do all the same training (which makes sense) but you can pretty much choose your own assignment depending on your abilities. Heck at LAPD they have a reserve cold case unit that works under the detective that helps Michael Connelly write "Bosch" novels and shows.

    Maybe check the larger agencies in your area...

    Dennis.



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  8. #8
    Member 60167's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Le Français View Post
    I worked as a part-time officer before being hired for a full-time position. Given the current climate, I would think hard about the risk (of crippling lawsuits, injury, criminal liability) vs the reward (scratching an itch?), especially if you don’t need a job.

    You nailed it. Why jump back in when I made it out free and clear? The smart version of me should just get over it and move on with my life. This is basically scratching an itch.
    If you're not going to learn to use the front sight properly, don't bother with it. If pointing the gun, screaming "Ahhhhh!" and cranking on the trigger is all you can learn to do, work on doing that safely. -ToddG

  9. #9
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    Executive Summary- you can never go home. The likelihood of this ending poorly is not low.
    You’re left on top, healthy, wealthy and wise. Take the win and move on.

    I was just having related conversation w a recently retired LEO.

    He was thinking of going reserve so he could get some part time off duty wk at 50-69 per hour.

    BUT the agency wants 240 hour (essentially 2 shifts a month + in service min )off the top so to speak

    He is giving away the 240 in time and 12k in value + all of the ya ya that comes w being a LEO in most places today.


    He just made a pivot to being a ct house security officer in federal ct- 37.50 to start w some benefits to mostly hang out w buddies and guys/gals like himself.
    I am not your attorney. I am not giving legal advice. Any and all opinions expressed are personal and my own and are not those of any employer-past, present or future.

  10. #10
    Member Horseman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 60167 View Post
    Hey all,

    I have a decade of experience in police work...(edited for brevity)...and doing nothing at all.


    Who has done something like this?
    I'm back with my old agency as a reserve after retiring from decades of full-time police work. Our state mandates only a minimum of 96 hours of duty time per year, plus continuing training requirements. It's unpaid, but I wanted to maintain my state certification and I'm on good enough terms with my agency that they are very tolerant of me picking and choosing what I want to do and not do (i.e. fun stuff like public relations writing, firearms training, courtroom security, backwoods patrol, versus dreary and tiresome stuff).

    I chose this alternative over part-time paid work that was offered by them, due to the fact I'm not beholden to any scheduling and don't feel like I particularly "owe" them.

    Is it "scratching an itch"? Possibly. I still enjoy the connection to the people I worked the road with and helping people in my area, while still moving on from the main part of my adult life. You'll have to decide if the conditions and culture at your old place still work for you.

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