Local Police Departments concerned over House Bill 1186

 

ELKHART, Ind. -- House bill 1186 would restrict the powers of part-time and reserve officers who are crucial to smaller departments.

If it passes, there are concerns response times, staffing, and recruiting could suffer.

The Wakarusa police department has a full-time staff of 7 officers.

Full-time officers are all tier one certified, which means they have received full training at the law enforcement academy.

The department also has six unpaid reserve volunteers who fill in when the full-time officers are out sick, on vacation, or for large events.

The reserve officers have the same arrest powers as full-time paid officers but are all "tier two" certified.

That means they pass a condensed version of police academy training.

Tim Hershberger is the Wakarusa town marshal.

He says the restrictions in house bill 1186 could hurt the department's reserve staff and have a negative impact on public safety.

"They cover shifts for us. It's not just working special events and it's not just being visible. They actually come out. And on average, they're working eight-to-10-hour shifts for us, covering shifts that our people are off full time, the full-time people are off or they're on vacation, and this house bill will be very detrimental to us," explained Hershberger.