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,CITY OF SAN BERN~RDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
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From: Mayor Holcomb
Dept: Mayor's Office
Date: October 30. 1991
Subject: Discuss and take action on increasing
police reserves from present strength
of 65 to 130.
Synopsis of Previous Council action:
NONE
Recommended motion:
That the proposal to increase the authorized strength of police reserves from
65 to 130 be approved in concept and referred to the Legislative Review Committee
to work out the details.
Contact person:
Mayor Holcomb
Phone:
5133
Supporting data attached:
Yes
Ward:
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
Amount:
'.
Source: (Acct. No.l
(Acct. DescriPtion)
Finance:
Council Notes:
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Agenda Item No3-~
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t CITY OF SAN BER~RDINO - REQUEST ~R COUNCIL ACTION
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STAFF REPORT
PROBLEM:
Mayor Ho ~ comb has. requested Po 1 ice Department staff provi de a cost benefi t ana lys i s
of do~bllng the SlZe of the Police Department's Reserve Unit. This would increase
the SlZe of that unlt from an authorized strength of 65 to an authorized strength
of 130.
The San Bernardino Pol ice Department needs addit i ona 1 reserve offi cers. Reserve
officers provide primary support to Patrol; however, due to the high number of calls
for serVl ce! reserve offi cers are requested for speci a 1 ass i gnments to suppl ement
regul ar offl cers. Many times simultaneous requests for reserves far outstrip the
number available.
Realizing that reserve officers have their full-time regular jobs and family obliga-
t ions, a 1 arger reserve pool woul d free more reserves for ass i gnments and patrol
duties.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the reserve compl ement be increased from the authori zed 65
positions to 130 positions.
FINDINGS:
Additional costs to the City are:
65 reserve officers: $50 per month uniform allowance times 12 months times
65 officers equals $39,000 per year.
One regular officer: P-1 top step $3,426 per month times 12 months equals
$41,112 per year.
Reserve officers are required to work a minimum of 16 hours per month (no maximum).
Because a regular officer is required to work 160 hours per month, it would take ten
reserves working 16 hours per month to put in the equivalent time. The cost per
~ reserve is $600 per year. Ten reserves equal $6,000 per year. The comparison between
the two becomes very striking. $6,000 for reserves working 1,920 hours per year
versus the salary of a patrol officer ($41,112) paid for working 1,920 hours per year.
It is not the purpose of this study to insinuate that the performance capabil ities
of each are comparable; however, the reserve officers are fully qualified to do many
of the lower level functions of a police officer thus allowing the regular officers
time to respond to more critical needs in the city.
Additional one-time equipment costs are $1,300 per reserve. $1 ;300 times 65 equals
$84,500.
EXPANDED PROGRAM DESIGN:
If this expanded program is approved, the departme~t would like.to integrate t~e ideas
of community spirit, community service, and esprlt de corps lnto the reser~e unit.
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CITY OF SAN BER~RDINO - REQUEST ~OR COUNCIL ACTION
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By using this theme we tie into the most popular reason citizens volunteer for commu-
nity service to help.others. Surveys by the Gallop Organization in 1991 plus surveys
by Hodgkinson. and Weltzman, 1988, show a high degree of consistency as to the motives
for volunteerlsm. Over 56% expressed a desire to do something useful to help others.
Therefore, the Department would 1 ike to initiate a program motto such as "Reserve
ReCrewMent". !he ~tress on the word "crew" would insinuate team work and a unifying
concept of dedlcatlon to public service. The theme would carry the recruitment drive
and also support the mission statement of the reserves.
Lateral Reserve Recruitment
Recently San Bernardi no hosted the Associ at i on of Pol ice Reserves of Ca 1 iforni a.
As a consequence, we have a large mail ing 1 ist of reserves from all over the state
who participated in this conference. One method of lateral recruitment would be to
use this data base to send letters of inquiry as to whether these reserves would be
interested in joining the San Bernardino Reserves.
New Reserves
Currently, there are a number of Level 1 reserves putti ng themselves through the
academy who are not sponsored by a department. These reserves wear academy fatigues
and have no departmental uniform. These individuals could be approached by our re-
serve recruiter to find out their interest in joining the San Bernardino Police
Reserves.
Also, California statute allows the hiring of reserves 18 years of age. Currently
.we require reserves to be 21 years of age. If the reserves are viewed as a potential
poo 1 of future pol ice .offi cers, it may be advantageous to lower our entry age to 19.
This would have a similar recruiting effect as the now defunct cadet program. Also,
if we have confidence in our screening process for those 21 years and above, the same
screening process should be adequate to screen out unsuitable candidates 19 and 20
years of age.
Advertising
Advr"tising can take place similar to the color brochure foldout we have for regular
officers.
A 1 so there are several computeri zed marquees throughout the city such as those at
Highland and Waterman, the Auto Center, and the National Orange Show. The owners
can be appr.oached and asked to display a "Join SBPD Reserves, call 384-5696".
In addition television can be used. Commercials on Channel 3 and publ ic service
announcements on the LA networks can be useful. Also, reserve program highlights
can be shown on Channel 3. The City Lite, a newsletter for city employees, can be
used to highlight the recruitment effort. Radio can be approached with public infor-
mation messages about the reserves.
Job Fairs
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Th~ reserve coordi nator can accompany our CSR recruiter to job fairs in malls, 'colleges,
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CITY OF SAN BER~RDINO - REQUEST B>>R COUNCIL ACTION
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and community events. Recruitment booths can be set up at the swap meet on Sundays
at the Orange Show, county fairs in San Bernardi no, Los Angeles, Orange County and
also at art and trade shows.
In order to attract city personnel, recruitment flyers can be placed at Personnel
on the "continuous hiring" list at City Hall. Also, we can list reserve officer posi-
tions on every "Job Line" recording.
Presentations
Presentations can be given to many of the service clubs in the San Bernardino area,
stressing the commitment to public service. These individuals typically are oriented
towards public service and could expand their involvement by joining the Police
Reserves. Presentations to Chamber of Commerce could convince a company or corpora-
tion to sponsor a reserve applicant by paying half of the equipment costs or providing
a percentage pay increase to the prospective reserve. This pay increase may be any-
where from two to five percent.
Presentat ions cou 1 d also be made to the San Bernardi no Sheriff's Department academy
and the Riverside Academy of Justice to PC 832 classes, Reserve Level II classes,
and Reserve Level I classes.
Incentives
City employees consisting of police officers, reserve officers, nonsworn police
employees, and other city employees would be awarded a $50 cash incentive for each
applicant who is accepted as a reserve.
COt her recruitment options are available to enhance the size of the program.
A time line showing the execution and implementation dates could be drafted if approval
is received for the additional positions.
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