Baca comments on audit of reserve program

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News Advisory

 

AUDIT OF RESERVE FORCES BUREAU COMPLETE:

RESULTS CALL FOR RETRAINING OF SOME RESERVES

 

A Statement from Sheriff Lee Baca: The Executive Offices for the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) provided me with the audit report of the Sheriff’s Department’s training of the reserve peace officer program.

 

The majority of the audit focuses on what is known as a Level III Reserve Deputy Sheriff, who is trained as a peace officer with limited authority and is required to work in support positions under the direct supervision of a fully trained, paid deputy sheriff. Moreover, reserve deputy sheriffs are volunteers who are paid one dollar a year.

 

The audit revealed good and bad leadership on the part of the Sheriff’s Department. The good is that the Department recruited 99 sincere and patriotic men and women who were willing to sacrifice time, money and energy to become a member of the public safety community.

 

The bad is the Sheriff’s Department failed to certify with P.O.S.T. the training locations, provide an account for the training in a proper manner, and uphold the high standards expected by P.O.S.T., as well as the Sheriff’s Department.

 

The good is, while working closely with P.O.S.T. officials, the Sheriff’s Department has corrected the errors and will proceed to retrain those individuals who are presently not eligible and certified to be level III peace officers.

 

Moreover, during the Sheriff’s Department’s lapse of performance, each recruit did their best, and the audit focused on the Department’s failures. The Sheriff’s Department, in correcting its errors with the help of P.O.S.T., commenced a new class of level III reserves in January 2010, which graduated March 10, 2010. All training and certification requirements were followed, and will continue to be followed hereafter.

 

It is my hope that this retraining of affected individuals will be understood and welcomed by them.

 

Furthermore, I want to apologize to the men and women who sincerely worked hard to serve the people of Los Angeles County as a reserve member of the Sheriff’s Department.

 

For further information, contact Steve Whitmore at (323) 573-2387.

 

SHB-46M-10 X X X May 26, 2010