• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
      Go that extra mile with a smile
      Improving the promotional process for supervisors
      Developing an ethics-centered police department
      Leadership without the family factor is not leadership
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
        Go that extra mile with a smile
        Improving the promotional process for supervisors
        Developing an ethics-centered police department
        Leadership without the family factor is not leadership
    • Editor’s Picks
      • Off duty, but never off guard
        The tyranny of memories
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
        Empowering through experience
        Getting ahead of the story
    • On the Job
      • What’s with all the gear?
        Reckless elegance
        No case too cold
        Summer is coming
        Securing the Texas border one K-9 team at a time
    • Labor
      • Critical incidents and waiting woosah
        Insufficient police staffing continues throughout the U.S.
        The righteous battle
        Recruitment and retention
        Austin police chief aims to end officer shortage as recruitment...
    • Tech
      • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
        Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
        A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
    • Training
      • Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
        Off duty, but never off guard
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
        Be a thermostat, not a thermometer
        Duty knives: Practical or just “tacticool”
    • Policy
      • Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
        Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
        Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
        Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
        Dakota’s Law: Pensions for police dogs?
    • Health/Wellness
      • Keeping work at work and home at home
        Avoiding the road to burnout
        Texas sheriff’s office hit with series of suicides
        The tyranny of memories
        “Why are you mad at me?”
    • Community
      • San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
        Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
        Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
        A local problem with a statewide solution
        From traffic stops to tip-offs: Iowa officer becomes basketball...
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • Honoring Fallen Heroes
        What’s with the white chairs?
        The pain and sorrow of loss
        A cop and his car
        A dream of remembrance
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • What’s with all the gear?
      Reckless elegance
      No case too cold
      Summer is coming
      Securing the Texas border one K-9 team at a time
  • Labor
    • Critical incidents and waiting woosah
      Insufficient police staffing continues throughout the U.S.
      The righteous battle
      Recruitment and retention
      Austin police chief aims to end officer shortage as recruitment...
  • Tech
    • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
      Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
      A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
  • Training
    • Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
      Off duty, but never off guard
      Meeting training needs on a limited budget
      Be a thermostat, not a thermometer
      Duty knives: Practical or just “tacticool”
  • Policy
    • Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
      Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
      Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
      Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
      Dakota’s Law: Pensions for police dogs?
  • Health/Wellness
    • Keeping work at work and home at home
      Avoiding the road to burnout
      Texas sheriff’s office hit with series of suicides
      The tyranny of memories
      “Why are you mad at me?”
  • Community
    • San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
      Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
      Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
      A local problem with a statewide solution
      From traffic stops to tip-offs: Iowa officer becomes basketball...
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • Honoring Fallen Heroes
      What’s with the white chairs?
      The pain and sorrow of loss
      A cop and his car
      A dream of remembrance
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Policy

Clark County shuts down reserve deputy volunteer unit

APB Team Published June 19, 2021 @ 1:00 pm PDT

Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State

Clark County Sherriff’s Office in Washington has disbanded their reserve deputy volunteer program citing police reforms and increased training requirements imposed by the state.

The reserve deputy program, which began in 1952, has been a supplementary unit to full-time deputies and has prioritized its engagements with the community. However, due to new training requirement policies, departments often lack the resources to maintain training for volunteers.

Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins explained the reasons for ending the program in a memo, citing training reforms for reserve personnel that are too costly an investment.

“The Criminal Justice Training Commission has considered rule making year-after-year with the intention of limiting more and more the duties and responsibilities allowed to be performed by reserve deputies and officers,” the memo read. 

“This year, the newly proposed reserve officer training hour requirements, both academy and ongoing post-academy as proposed by the current CJTC commission would represent a significant investment on any agency maintaining a reserve program, and on the individual reserve deputies and officers themselves. This, along with the personal liability officers are facing in our current climate are the main reasons for my decision,” Atkins wrote.

Reserve unit commander Bob Christian was “disheartened” about the news, and is worried about the future of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Clark County Sheriff Chuck E. Atkins. Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State

Christian disagreed with the decision to disband officers who want to give back to their community for free, especially during a time when many are leaving the force because of increased public scrutiny.

“Not many people are running toward a problem, instead of away from it,” And here you have 14 who are willing to do it for free,” he said.

According to The Colombian, the department’s reserve force used to have up to 50 commissioned reserve deputies trained by a local academy. Recently, there is no local training academy, and the reserve numbers have increasingly dwindled over time. At the time of disbanding the unit, there were 14 members.

Clark County sheriff’s Sgt. Brent Waddell, who began his career as a reserve deputy, said the requirements for law enforcement are always changing, and makes keeping up with certifications and trainings challenging for volunteers who often have a day job outside of law enforcement.

According to Waddell, Clark County is the latest department to end its reserve program as agencies across the country have stopped accepting volunteers.

A statement from the deputy union read: “The Clark County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild recognizes the difficult decision which the Clark County Sheriff’s Office administration was faced with in determining the outcome of the Reserve Deputy Program. The men and women who volunteered their time in service to their community and the citizens of Clark County are humbly appreciated and will be sincerely missed. The DSG hopes for positive collaboration with the Sheriff’s Office Administration in finding ways to fill the voids created by the loss of the Reserve Deputy Program. We extend our gratitude to the years of dedicated service and commitment which the Reserve Deputies brought to our ranks.”

Categories: Policy

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • USDOT, Law Enforcement Memorial Partner on Traffic Safety Program
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces April 2025 Officer of the Month
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Presents 2025 Board Award Winners
  • What’s with all the gear?
  • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
  • Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
  • Reckless elegance
  • Keeping work at work and home at home
  • Critical incidents and waiting woosah
  • Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Off duty, but never off guard

Off duty, but never off guard

May 05, 2025

The tyranny of memories

The tyranny of memories

May 04, 2025

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

May 02, 2025

Empowering through experience

Empowering through experience

April 18, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.