RESERVE DEPUTIES SAVED TAXPAYERS MORE THAN $260,000 IN 2014 A total of 23 reserve deputies who volunteer their time to work with full-time, paid Lexington County Sheriff’s Department deputies saved taxpayers $262,347 in 2014 by working a combined total of 11,023 hours in 2014. Lexington County Sheriff Lewis McCarty thanked the 23 reserve deputies for volunteering their time to help full-time deputies by answering calls for help from citizens, writing incident reports, issuing citations and warnings to motorists who violated traffic laws, serving arrest warrants and providing law enforcement services at community events, such as road races. “Reserve deputies play an important role in helping full-time deputies provide professional law enforcement services to all people in Lexington County,” McCarty said. “Reserve deputies sacrifice time away from their families in order to supplement the number of full-time, sworn officers who are assigned to road patrol duties with our agency.” In 2014, reserve deputies worked a combined total of 6,184 hours on road patrol shifts and answered a total of 4,495 calls for help from citizens, McCarty said. Reserve deputies wrote a combined total of 688 incident reports, arrested a total of 141 persons and served a total of 202 arrest warrants and bench warrants. Reserve deputies issued a combined total of 361 warnings and 74 citations to motorists and other persons who violated the law. In 2014, reserve deputies worked a combined total of 606 hours to provide law enforcement services at community events, McCarty said. Reserve deputies also completed a combined total of 1,254 hours of law enforcement training in 2014. In 2014, the combined total of 11,023 hours that reserve deputies worked saved Lexington County taxpayers $262,347, based on an hourly pay rate of $23.80 for a newly appointed deputy, McCarty said. The hourly pay rate of $23.80 includes salary and fringe benefits. The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department was the first law enforcement agency in South Carolina to start a reserve officer program, McCarty said. Citizens who want to become a reserve deputy can apply by calling the Sheriff’s Department at (803) 785-8230, McCarty said. You should ask to speak with someone in personnel. Applications for a reserve deputy position are available at the Lexington County Law Enforcement Complex, 521 Gibson Road, Lexington, McCarty said. Citizens also can download an application for a deputy position online at the Sheriff’s Department web site (lexingtonsheriff). Under South Carolina law, reserve law enforcement officers must be 21 or older, with a clean criminal record, McCarty said. They must have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Prospective reserve deputies with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department must pass a background investigation, polygraph examination, drug screening test and physical examination. South Carolina law requires a reserve law enforcement officer to provide at least 60 hours of service every three months and complete at least four hours of training monthly, McCarty said. In order to be appointed as law enforcement officers, reserve deputies must complete 202 hours of training that is required by South Carolina law and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department policy, McCarty said. Reserve deputies must complete training that is comparable to the training that the Sheriff’s Department provides to full-time, paid deputies. During their first year of service, reserve deputies must complete field training and patrol with a full-time, sworn officer, McCarty said. Reserve deputies must receive approval from the sheriff before they can patrol on their own. Reserve deputies who are allowed to work on their own must maintain radio contact with and report to a shift supervisor who is a sworn officer.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 21:51:09 +0000
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