thedrifter
07-29-08, 06:55 AM
Local bases seek civilian police
Published Mon, Jul 28, 2008 9:28 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Over the next four years, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island will hire more than 80 civilian police officers as the Corps continues to look for ways to free up active-duty Marines to serve in combat.
Adopted in June 2007, the Corps put into motion a plan to hire about 1,200 civilian police officers over the next four years at bases across the country, according to a memo from Marine Headquarters in Quantico, Va. The Corps said it hopes to hire 400 police officers nationwide in the first year, with all of the hires are expected to be made by the end of 2011.
In Beaufort, 86 civilian police officers will be hired over the next four years on Parris Island and at MCAS Beaufort. Those hired will be trained police officers, not security guards, said Randy Walz, who is heading up the hiring of civilian police for the provost marshal's office at the air station and the depot.
"The Marine Corps is not hiring gate guards,"
he said. "We are hiring police officers to free up the military police to fight the war on terror. The police officers that we hire have the same responsibilities and the same arresting powers as MPs."
Walz said 14 police officers already were working various posts at MCAS Beaufort and Parris Island, and another 17 were making their way through the hiring process.
"So far, it's been good," he said. "The Marine Corps police officers are dependable and provide the best possible service to the Tri-Command community. So far, the local military community has responded well to them."
The officers, who are scheduled to earn between $23,000 and $68,000 a year, depending on their pay grade, will need to pass a physical fitness test twice a year, undergo a background check and complete an eight-week USMC civilian police course at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The course is similar to one completed by MPs and will focus on weapons training, report writing, handling traffic stops and responding to domestic incidents, the memo states.
The Corps began experimenting with a civilian police force on base in 2005 with Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany in Georgia, Marine Corps Blount Island Command in Florida and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow in California.
All three bases now employee a police force composed almost entirely of civilian police officers.
The transition from military to civilian police has been a smooth one at the base, said Maj. John Riley, head of the base's civilian police department.
"With our continued war on terrorism, we've got to get our fighting men and women over to where they can do the most good," he said. "I think it's gone very well for us. There's always a little bit of a learning curve, and it took our residents a little bit of time to get adjusted to not seeing camouflaged Marines at our entry gate."
The civilian police officers will be armed with an M-9 service pistol and outfitted in a khaki-colored uniform.
Riley said Albany's 50-person police force is a mix of retired Marines and former law enforcement officers from across the region.
The police force at MCAS Beaufort and Parris Island is expected to be a mix of military and civilian police.
Ellie
Published Mon, Jul 28, 2008 9:28 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Over the next four years, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island will hire more than 80 civilian police officers as the Corps continues to look for ways to free up active-duty Marines to serve in combat.
Adopted in June 2007, the Corps put into motion a plan to hire about 1,200 civilian police officers over the next four years at bases across the country, according to a memo from Marine Headquarters in Quantico, Va. The Corps said it hopes to hire 400 police officers nationwide in the first year, with all of the hires are expected to be made by the end of 2011.
In Beaufort, 86 civilian police officers will be hired over the next four years on Parris Island and at MCAS Beaufort. Those hired will be trained police officers, not security guards, said Randy Walz, who is heading up the hiring of civilian police for the provost marshal's office at the air station and the depot.
"The Marine Corps is not hiring gate guards,"
he said. "We are hiring police officers to free up the military police to fight the war on terror. The police officers that we hire have the same responsibilities and the same arresting powers as MPs."
Walz said 14 police officers already were working various posts at MCAS Beaufort and Parris Island, and another 17 were making their way through the hiring process.
"So far, it's been good," he said. "The Marine Corps police officers are dependable and provide the best possible service to the Tri-Command community. So far, the local military community has responded well to them."
The officers, who are scheduled to earn between $23,000 and $68,000 a year, depending on their pay grade, will need to pass a physical fitness test twice a year, undergo a background check and complete an eight-week USMC civilian police course at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The course is similar to one completed by MPs and will focus on weapons training, report writing, handling traffic stops and responding to domestic incidents, the memo states.
The Corps began experimenting with a civilian police force on base in 2005 with Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany in Georgia, Marine Corps Blount Island Command in Florida and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow in California.
All three bases now employee a police force composed almost entirely of civilian police officers.
The transition from military to civilian police has been a smooth one at the base, said Maj. John Riley, head of the base's civilian police department.
"With our continued war on terrorism, we've got to get our fighting men and women over to where they can do the most good," he said. "I think it's gone very well for us. There's always a little bit of a learning curve, and it took our residents a little bit of time to get adjusted to not seeing camouflaged Marines at our entry gate."
The civilian police officers will be armed with an M-9 service pistol and outfitted in a khaki-colored uniform.
Riley said Albany's 50-person police force is a mix of retired Marines and former law enforcement officers from across the region.
The police force at MCAS Beaufort and Parris Island is expected to be a mix of military and civilian police.
Ellie