Reserve Officer Program

A Reserve Police Officer is a non-paid community service employee that performs an essential role within the Benicia Police Department. Reserve officers work in all facets of the Police Department, augmenting full time police officers in a variety of assignments. The Police Department requires an average commitment of 16 hours a month. We take into account your work schedule and family obligations and emphasize that we put your family and job first.

Reserve officers contribute to the community through working the following functions:

  • Patrol
  • Investigations
  • Computer crimes
  • Personnel and training
  • Traffic
  • Crowd Management
  • Security at crime scenes
  • Disaster response
  • Stakeouts
  • Special details
  • Other specialized assignments

A Reserve Officer is also subject to emergency call out and can be assigned to any function, depending on the emergency.

For further information email our Reserve Coordinator, Keith Kops, kkops@ci.benicia.ca.us.

Police Reserves Levels

Level II Reserve Police Officer

Officers in this category must complete the 386 hours of the California Peace Officer’s Standards and Training, Level III and Level II Modules. Level II courses cover behavior objectives for the role of a back-up officer. Level II Reserves work armed, uniformed patrol duties while engaged in an ongoing Field Training Program with a full-time police officer.

 

Level I Reserve Police Officer

Officers in this category must complete the 664 hours of the California Peace Officer’s Standards and Training, Level III, Level II, and Level I Modules, and 400 hours of a Field Training Program. Completion of the Level I course is considered a Regular Basic Peace Officer’s Course. Level I Reserve Officers can work alone, with another Level I Reserve Officer, or with a full-time police officer

 

The Police Department only hires Level I and Level II officers.

Basic Qualifications

Applicants must:

  • be high school graduates or have the General Education Development (G.E.D.) acceptable to the State Department of Education
  • be citizens at the time of their appointment
  • must have a valid California driver's license prior to appointment. You cannot have more than three moving violations within the past three years.
  • Applicants may file within six months of reaching 21 years of age and shall not be appointed before reaching their 21st birthday (You must indicate your date of birth on the application).

No candidate who has been convicted of a felony can be accepted for the examination. Conviction of certain misdemeanor crimes involving theft or moral turpitude may be grounds for disqualification.

Training

California Penal Code Section 830.6 gives local agencies the authority to appoint reserve officers. All law enforcement operations in the State of California are governed by the Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training (POST).

For more information on reserve officer training, please contact the following academies:

 

Most of the reserve academies offer courses in evening and weekend formats.

Testing process

Prior to becoming a reserve officer, individuals will be required to complete a state-mandated reserve peace officer academy. Depending upon scheduling of courses, this may consist of several months worth of evening classes meeting several times a week.

The testing process has six mandatory parts, and you must qualify for each.

  • Oral Interview
  • Polygraph Examination
  • Background Examination
  • Psychological Written/Oral Examination
  • Medical Examination
  • Staff Interview

 

Candidates who fail any part of the testing process above will not be allowed to continue in the examination process and may re-apply in one year.

The oral interview consists of questions, problems, and hypothetical situations designed to give the candidate an opportunity to display the kinds of behavior and skill used in the profession of a reserve officer. It is not designed to measure police science knowledge. The oral examination is pass/fail.

Candidates will be fingerprinted and required to submit to a detailed Personal History. A thorough Confidential Background Investigation is conducted by the Police Department to determine the candidate's fitness to hold the position of sworn reserve officer.

A candidate will also be required to pass a thorough medical examination prior to appointment. A questionnaire covering the candidate’s medical history and present physical condition are required. Vision must be correctable to 20/20 in both eyes along with normal vision function, acuity and color vision. Normal hearing in both ears is required.

Candidates eliminated on the basis of the medical or psychological examinations may not re-apply for one year.

An employee will be required to maintain, a certificate of Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), First Aid Training, Continuing Professional Training and the Police Range Qualification requirements.