Sworn Volunteers in American Policing, 1999 to 2013

Abstract

This study describes changes in the use of sworn volunteers among the nation's local law enforcement agencies and identifies those state-level certification, community, and agency characteristics associated with agencies using such volunteers in 2013. Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics data from 1999 through 2013 were analyzed to document trends in both the number of sworn volunteers and the prevalence of agencies using sworn volunteers. While there has been a modest decline in the use of sworn volunteers since 1999, in 2013, about 36% of all local law enforcement agencies used sworn volunteers; furthermore, these volunteers comprised 7% of all local sworn personnel having arrest authority nationwide in 2013. A survey of peace officer standards and training agencies found that approximately two thirds of states required state-level certification of sworn volunteers. Multivariate analyses of state-level certification standards, census data, and agency characteristics found that agencies were more likely to use sworn volunteers if they (a) are a sheriff's office, (b) serve jurisdictions with larger populations, (c) have greater levels of social disadvantage, (d) do not require recruits to have more than a high school education, or (e) are located within states offering graduated levels of sworn volunteer certifications. Agencies were less likely to use volunteer officers if they (a) hire part-time sworn officers, (b) have a greater entry-level salary, or (c) are accredited.

Volunteer Use as a Service Delivery Alternative: The Case of Law Enforcement Agencies

“…A shortcoming is that these studies provide limited insight into how individual service areas might be driven by different organizational needs and environmental circumstances in utilizing volunteers. One study from the policing literature by Malega and Garner (2019) examines law enforcement agencies and conducts a multivariate analysis of the organizational and socioeconomic characteristics associated with using sworn volunteers. However, the study does not engage in hypothesis testing, and few theoretical implications can be drawn regarding why police agencies involve volunteers.…”

“…However, there is no single definition or category volunteer officers, and studies discuss how there is great variation in the way different states utilize volunteer officers (Dobrin, 2017a). For this study, the concept of volunteer officers is limited to those who are unpaid, sworn, and endowed with some level of law enforcement authority, such as arrest (Malega & Garner, 2019). While some jurisdictions may refer to part-time paid and seasonal paid officers as “reserve police” or “auxiliary police,” this study excludes these positions and centers on sworn volunteer officers who are unpaid.…”

“…However, systematic inquiry into volunteer officers is a fairly recent trend. Past research on volunteers in policing has largely been anecdotal in nature and only recently have scholars begun conducting in-depth inquiry into volunteer police officers (Dobrin, 2017a; Dobrin & Wolf, 2016; Malega & Garner, 2019; Pepper & Wolf, 2015; Wolf et al, 2016; Wolf & Jones, 2018). Greenberg (2005) points out that the history of volunteer policing has various distinctive periods in contrast to regular policing, with some degree of overlap.…”

“…Many states require volunteer officers to undergo rigorous training and education and, in some states, to receive the same level of training as that of full-time paid officers. However, there is great variation in the level of standards, training, and certification requirements across states (Dobrin, 2017a; Malega & Garner, 2019; Wolf et al, 2016). Based on a survey of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) councils regarding state-level certification for sworn volunteer officers, Malega and Garner (2019) find that 63% of states report some form of certification for sworn volunteers, 31% of states do not require any certification, and 6% of states do not authorize the use of sworn volunteers at all.…”

“…A direct consequence of resource deficiency in terms of personnel capacity would be an increase in the workload of full-time officers because they have less time and resources available for handling a particular crime case (Paré et al, 2007). While one response could be to hire more part-time sworn personnel to fill in for full-time officers (Malega & Garner, 2019), if financial constraint is an issue, agencies could further save on labor costs by utilizing volunteer officers because they are trained and authorized, to a certain degree, to carry out many core law enforcement duties. Volunteers could assist by reducing the service workload of paid personnel or provide services that agencies would not be able to deliver otherwise, potentially contributing to cost savings.…”