State-level estimates of the number of volunteer police in the United States

Date01 June 2017
DOI10.1177/1461355717695322
AuthorAdam Dobrin
Published date01 June 2017
Subject MatterArticles
PSM695322 81..88
Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
State-level estimates of the number
2017, Vol. 19(2) 81–88
ª The Author(s) 2017
of volunteer police in the United States
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DOI: 10.1177/1461355717695322
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Adam Dobrin
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida Atlantic University, USA
Abstract
To effectively develop and evaluate policing policies and practices, researchers and stakeholders need to know the
numbers of volunteer police officers. Limited national estimates exist in the United States, but have shortcomings.
This study collects state-level counts of volunteer police from all 50 states (and the District of Columbia), and finds
that relying on state-level counts of volunteer police officers is not an effective way of capturing this information. The
implications are discussed and a solution is suggested.
Keywords
Volunteer police estimates, reserve police, auxiliary police, number of volunteer police, state-level police data
Submitted 10 Oct 2016, Revise received 12 Jan 2017, accepted 31 Jan 2017
Introduction
policing that is not well known outside its participants. As
such, there are limited data to guide evidence-based
During the history of the Anglo/American police, volun-
policies concerning volunteer police. One of the fundamen-
teer police officers have always participated signifi-
tal types of data needed to guide any evidence-based dis-
cantly in almost all aspects of local policing, with a
cussion is a simple count of the number of volunteer police
wide variety of roles, responsibilities and authority that
in the United States. Other levels of measurement, such as
benefit their agencies and communities (Dobrin, 2015;
at the state level, would also be very useful. This article
Greenberg, 1984, 2005). Although providing only a rel-
discusses the shortcomings in both national and state-level
atively small portion of the manpower of the full-time
estimates of the numbers of volunteer officers in the United
police, volunteer officers play an important, yet often
States, goes into greater detail for each state and their
overlooked, role in modern American policing. They
counts, and suggests realistic ways to address the short-
represent a significant number of government agents
comings in the data.
(discussed below) and have legal authority to restrict
The term ‘volunteer police’ is primarily used in this
the freedom of citizens, ranging from detention and
study, but the terms ‘reserve police’ and ‘auxiliary police’
arrest, to the legal use of lethal force. They are also of
often have the same meaning, and are used by different
political importance. In a democratic society, the gov-
states to refer to volunteer police. Some reserve and aux-
erned need to participate in the process of governance
iliary programs include part-time paid and seasonal paid
and oversight. The ethic of civil participation is crucial
officers, but they are not the focus of this research; only
to a viable democracy (Sullivan and Transue, 1999).
volunteer officers are. There are also many other volunteer
Volunteer police perfectly represent this ideal.
positions within policing, including community service
As durable and common as volunteer policing has been,
a proportionate amount of research on this topic has not
been carried out (Dobrin and Wolf, 2016). This may be due
Corresponding author:
to bias, with practitioners and researchers thinking that
Adam Dobrin, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida Atlantic
volunteer police are amateurish (Bullock and Leeney,
University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA.
2016) or, more likely, a simple oversight of an aspect of
Email: adobrin@fau.edu

82
International Journal of Police Science & Management 19(2)
aides, explorers, search and rescue teams, chaplains, citi-
officers by local police departments’ in the United States
zens on patrol, senior volunteers and neighborhood watch
as 29,500 for 2013 (Reaves, 2015, Appendix Table 1),
liaisons, among others. This research focuses on only those
although unsworn officers are not reported. The compara-
volunteers who are sworn police officers,1 who generally
ble publication for sheriff’s offices (Burch, 2016) does not
wear uniforms identical or very similar to those of regular
include information on volunteer deputies, but 2013
paid officers, are armed (with firearms)2 and have either
LEMAS survey data are available from the Interuniversity
full or reduced arrest authority. It should also be noted that
Consortium for Political and Social Research’s National
in many states, sheriff’s deputies are responsible for tradi-
Archive of Criminal Justice Data, and estimate about
tional policing duties (traffic patrol, criminal investiga-
29,000 sworn volunteer sheriff’s deputies (United States
tions, etc.) and are often synonymous with the
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs and
nomenclature of ‘police officers’. They are included here
Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2015). The most recent data
when only the word ‘police’ is used, unless differences are
available for non-sworn reserve and auxiliary police and
specifically distinguished.
sheriff’s deputies are from 2007, with 9700 police and 9300
deputies (BJS, 2014a). Summing these data gives a total
Estimates of the number of volunteer
estimate of approximately 58,500 sworn volunteer police
and deputies, and approximately 19,000 unsworn volunteer
police in the United States
reserve and auxiliary police and deputies; a combined total
For researchers and other stakeholders wishing to know the
of 77,500 in the United States. This is a significant number
number of full-time paid police officers in the United States,
of volunteer police officers, totaling approximately 12% of
data are readily available. The Federal Bureau of
the 635,781-full-time city and county police officers in the
Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting System
United States (FBI, 2016; Tables 71 and 74. State-level
(UCR) has an item that asks responding agencies how many
officers are not included in either figure here). Relatedly,
full-time paid officers they employ, as well as how many
research suggests that volunteer officers participate in 30–
full-time civilians (FBI, 2004, 2016). Regrettably, no items
35% of all public safety organizations in the United States
inquire about part-time or unpaid officers, so there are no
(Brudney and Kellough, 2000; Hickman and Reaves,
annual UCR numbers of volunteer officers. In addition, the
2006a, 2016b; Reaves, 2015). Given that there are more
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) conducts the Census of
than18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States
State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA),
(FBI, 2016), it would stand to reason that more than 5000
which asks about the number of full- and part-time paid
policing agencies use volunteer officers in some capacity.
officers, but has no items about unpaid officers. Finally, a
The LEMAS survey is the only national estimate of the
unique survey carried out by the U.S. Census Bureau collects
number of volunteer police in the United States, and it has
information about pay for all paid officers in its Annual
its shortcomings. It does not collect relevant data every
Survey of Public Employment and Payroll. Unpaid officers
iteration; only the most recent survey asks specifically
have no information to collect (Banks et al., 2016).
about unpaid officers, and then only sworn officers. The
There is one national survey that estimates the number
BJS did not publish the relevant information from sheriff’s
of volunteer officers every so often. The BJS Law Enforce-
offices from that survey, either. In addition, although the
ment Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS)
LEMAS survey is methodologically sound, relying on
survey of a nationally representative sample sometimes has
extrapolated data from a small sample collected every few
relevant...

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