Harris County Sheriff’s Office to beef up force with volunteers

khou.com—February 17th, 2010

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office was recently recognized by KHOU Channel 11′s Alex Sanz:

In the face of major budget cuts, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia wants to increase his deputy force by adding more volunteer deputies to the department.

The Sheriff’s Office — like other county agencies and departments — is under orders to reign in spending. It’s leaving vacant jobs open. It’s reassigning deputies to fill gaps in the ranks. And now, it’s beefing up its reserves — hoping to add at least another 100 deputies to the 231-person volunteer force.

“They do an invaluable job for the Sheriff’s Office, not to mention the work that they do for citizens of Harris County,” said Chief Deputy Kevin Maples of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

The volunteers have gone through the rigors of the Sheriff’s academy to meet state training mandates. They work the streets on their own time — and their own dime.

“We’ve been doing more with less for years,” said Robert Goerlitz, president of the Harris County Deputies Organization. “These guys, basically, are the lifeline. It’s a win-win.”

The Reserves saved Harris County taxpayers more than $3.1 million last year, Maples said.

“We work during the week and work [as reserves] on Saturday and Sunday,” said Gary Look, Captain of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Patrol, who also works as a veterinarian at Woodlake Veterinary Clinic.

“It’s a great part of my life and it has been,” he said. “And I hope it will be for a long, long time.”

A group of Sheriff’s Office Reserves took part in last week’s operation targeting street racers. In the past, they’ve taken drunk drivers off the streets, helped solve financial crimes and backed up paid deputies.

“The reward we get is not monetary,” said Maples, who is also a part of the reserves. “The reward we get is that pat on the back. The knowing that we did something really good in our community. And I think that’s what carries these volunteers that are in law enforcement.”