Reserve Unit team at LAPD Headquarters
As most people are celebrating the end of another school year and are looking forward to a summer break with their families, the Reserve Unit seems to be getting busier and busier. We just enjoyed our time together at the Twice a Citizen Gala, followed almost immediately by our big recruitment drive at L.A. Fleet Week 2024 during Memorial Day weekend.
This is certainly the busiest time of our year. Less than a week from this writing, the Reserve Unit will be participating in the 2024 Special Olympics of Southern California’s Summer Games opening ceremonies. This event has always involved many of our neighboring police departments in attendance, but we have always been the agency with the dominant presence, specifically our reserve officers. COVID lockdowns and other circumstances have caused our involvement to wane over the years. Building that back up into one of the Reserve Corps’ flagship annual events of the year is a big priority for us. In August, the 46th Annual Reserve Peace Officers Conference will be held in our backyard at the Burbank Marriott. There will be many specialized training courses offered as well as an opportunity to rub shoulders (and trade patches) with reserves from all over the state. Just a few weeks later, the Reserve Corps will be heavily deployed at the 18th Annual Sunshine Kids LAPD Day in September.
We have even more events planned through the end of this year. One event in particular has not been publicly announced yet but is sure to bring a great deal of attention to the LAPD Reserve Corps and the unique opportunities available to reserve officers. When the details of this event can be made public, they will be thoroughly covered here in The Rotator.
In addition to each of these important events, we are on track to begin our next Reserve Academy class in August with a batch of new Level III reserve officers. As always, our goal will be to run that Academy through all three training modules consecutively, which will, of course, allow any current Level IIIs and IIs an opportunity to join in and move up a level. For those of you who will be moving up with our new recruits, I strongly suggest you start planning and making arrangements now to continue your training.
As we speed along into the second half of this year, I ask that each of you look at your hours and training achievements completed thus far. Remember, we are entering the final quarter of the 2023/2024 POST CPT and PSP Training Cycle. If you still have required training courses to complete, get with your training coordinators now and schedule them while there is still time. Our goal is to close out this training cycle with 100% compliance.
As always, the Reserve Unit is here to support you in any way you need. Our direct line is (213) 486-6000, and we can be found on the second floor of PAB, room 250. Thank you all for your efforts, diligence and passion for our line of work. It is my joy and honor to work for you as the OIC of such an impressive group of professionals.