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 Van Buren County
Sheriffs Office Reserve Association
is a group of volunteers whose dedication and hard work have made
the group an outstanding organization and a tremendous benefit to the
Sheriff’s Office and the citizens of Van Buren County. The group was
formed in the year 2000 as a way to support Deputies with a second
person in the car for patrol operations. Since that time, the
group has transformed into a well trained multi-facetted organization
which has under taken many more responsibilities and duties.
This past year was exceptional with many new achievements worthy of
note. First, a record number of hours were worked; a total of 6,749 hours for the unit. Each
person worked an average of 294 hours or the equivalent of 37 eight hour
shifts. To spend this much time away from family and friends shows the
dedication that these volunteers have. But it is what they did with
those hours that sets them apart and makes them special. While a fair
share of the hours were spent with road operations, over half were on
special assignments which would have taken Deputies away from their
duties, or the Sheriffs Office would not have been able to provide the
service had it not been for the Reserve unit. In this time of budget
cuts and loss of services, it is a high point to be able to say that
services to the citizens of Van Buren County were increased with little
cost to the tax payer.
While there are many
examples of the services the group has provided over the year, space
allows only a few examples to be listed:
Reserve Activities
STOPPED
The STOPPED program was developed by
the Michigan
Sheriff’s
Association to form a partnership between parents, teen drivers, and law
enforcement. With the outcome of promoting safe teen drivers, the
program has presentations for parents and young drivers and requires
registration of vehicles driven by the teen drivers. The Reserve unit
has taken this program to the highest level in the state. For 2007 and
2008, Van Buren County received the top award from the Secretary of
State for the most people registered in
equivalent size counties. For 2009, they also registered the most
people for any size county. Van Buren County is the only county to
have received this award for 3 consecutive years since inception of the
program.
McGruff the Crime Dog
- The Reserve unit is in charge of and has taken McGruff the Crime Dog
to parades, community safety fairs, picnics, schools and other events.
Uniformed Reserves accompany McGruff and hand out “PC the Patrol Car”
coloring books, “Junior Safety Officer” certificates, crayons and
stickers. This safety information has been given to hundreds of children
in the county.
Parades, Festivals,
Fireworks
- Who doesn’t like a great parade or
festival? Our county has an abundance of both; every community has at
least one a year, some have several. The Reserves handle leading the
parade with a marked patrol car, McGruff the crime Dog, and a special
vintage 1955 Sheriffs patrol car. The Reserves also provide security and
traffic control for many of these events.
Light Up the
Lake - Each 4th of July, the City of
South Haven hosts one
of biggest fireworks displays in the state; it draws 40 to 60 thousand
people to this small town. It is a traffic nightmare, to say the least.
Over the years, the Reserves have assisted with traffic control. The
last two years, traffic control has been their total responsibility. The
Reserves have acquired extra equipment and taken special training to
deal with these large volumes of traffic.
Christmas Families
- Each year, the group adopts three families
in need. Unlike other groups who give only toys to the children, the
Reserves try to meet the needs of the entire family with food staples
and goodies for the holiday that perhaps the family would never be able
to purchase. . . and, of course, toys and clothes for the kids.
Youth Fair - The Reserves have taken a very active role in
providing security at the fair. From watching entrances, to patrolling
the midway and special events. Their presence gives the public a sense of
security that allows families to enjoy themselves.
Township Meetings
- Each month, the 17 township boards in Van Buren County receive a
report of police services in their respective townships. This has
traditionally been done by Patrol Deputies, however, in 2009 those duties have been transferred to the Reserves. This
insures that someone will attend the meeting; Deputies sometimes would
be called to other more important tasks and would miss the meeting.
Reserves are assigned a township and have no other duties for that time
period. The result is a township board that sees someone from the
Sheriff’s Office every month thus improving communications.
Child Finger Printing - The Reserves have been trained in
fingerprinting and have held several events to print small children in
case they become separated from their families.
Other Reserve
activities:
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Second person in car
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Extra eyes, hands, support
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Football and Basketball games
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Hospital-inmate
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Crime scene security
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Property checks
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Search & Rescue
In conclusion, these are people of great character and purpose whose
sense of community involvement goes well beyond that of most volunteers.
Enduring many hours of training, being called out in the middle of the
night to watch an inmate at the hospital or help find a lost child, they
come to serve willingly. This diverse group of individuals have come
together to form a family. A small family who sometimes put themselves
in harm’s way to serve their community; they deserve to be recognized
for the service they have given to the County of Van Buren.
Dale Gribler, Sheriff
Van Buren County
Reserve Program
Requirements
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Limited to 25 members
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Applicants must be 21 years of age
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Must be a United States Citizen
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Must be a high school graduate
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No felony, crime of moral turpitude, or
domestic violence conviction
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FBI and MI fingerprint clearance
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Never committed to mental institution
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Attend VBC Citizens Police Academy
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Submit an application for employment.
Click
here to download an application form.
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Must have a valid Michigan drivers license
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Must have a Michigan concealed pistol
license
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Interview
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Background and reference check
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In good physical condition.
Reserve Training
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Annual firearms training-qualifications
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Communications equipment, radios, computers
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Pressure Point Control Technique
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First Aid for professional rescuer
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Many, many more hours of training.
Reserve Results
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In 2010, the Reserves worked 6749.25 hours
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Average per person 290 hours or over 7 weeks
of service
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The dollar value to the citizens of Van
Buren County is estimated at $100,000.00.
Contact Us
Reserve Captain Rodney Bridgeforth at
269-655-6518 or by
email. |
