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Yes and no. Our Auxiliary Officers, Explorers, and non-uniformed volunteers are not sworn. Our Reserve Deputies are sworn law enforcement officers and have been further trained to meet or exceed Montana Code Annotated requirements per MCA 7-32-217. Even if an auxiliary officer possesses a concealed weapons permit, they are not permitted to carry a firearm while on duty per Montana Law.
Our unsworn members are permitted to carry less-lethal weapons like batons, tasers, and OC spray once they are trained on how to use and certified to carry per MCA 7-32-232. Because our Reserve Deputies are sworn peace officers, they are required to carry firearms.
We understand how this can sound unreasonable, but we can assure readers that every member in our organization receives extensive training in all the necessary aspects required to execute their duties safely and competently. Members receive training in Montana law, use of force, self-defense, scope of practice, emergency medical response, ethics, public interaction, and emergency vehicle operations (to name a few). We make sure to only send out the most qualified, competent, safe, and knowledgeable individuals to serve the community. We serve in pairs at almost all our events unless the risk assessment is at a low level.
We are directly accountable to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff holds the final say regarding any of our issues, duties, activities, and scope of practice elements.
Separately. Our volunteer Reserve Deputies and Auxiliary Officers are not funded by the Sheriff’s Office and need donations funded by a 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit Flathead County Sheriff’s Posse, Inc. This means all of your donations are tax deductible. Contact administration@sheriffsposse.org to obtain a 501(c)(3) receipt for your donation.
There is no minimum time service requirement. We totally get it if we are not your thing, and you want to pursue other opportunities.
The time it takes to review an application and return contact can vary as we are often very busy. We aim to return contact within 2-4 weeks, and at that time, you could receive an invitation to start attending our membership meetings and trainings. However, your criminal background will take longer to clear, which is the final step for finalizing your volunteer status with us.
While in most cases it may disqualify an applicant, cases will be treated on a case-by-case examination, and participation may be limited. However, the Flathead County Sheriff retains the right of the final say in all applicant considerations as FCSP must remain in alignment with the Montana Code Annotated’s requirements.
Not all of it. We will provide your uniform (shirt & pants), ballistic vest, badge, and cold weather gear. The rest you will be able to use (at no cost) from our limited collection such as radios, vehicles, tasers, and other tools. Other items like handcuffs, batons, earpieces, and MOLLE carriers are the responsibility of the volunteer (we can guide you to the most cost-effective options). If you don’t want to share your equipment, you are welcome to purchase it all yourself so long as it is approved in advance. For example, we have some members who have purchased approved Tasers from an approved supplier, and other members who have approved communication equipment. It’s vital to obtain approval in advance from command staff to make sure, say, that communication equipment does not interfere with police communications.
The time commitment varies depending on your availability. Considering we have a membership consisting of students to full-time business owners, we understand that no two schedules are alike. We require a certain amount of volunteer and training hours a quarter to maintain yourself as active. You can learn more about this when you are assigned a captain. Generally, we host 2 hours a week in training. In addition, you will need to meet minimum uniformed hours each quarter as an Auxiliary Officer or Reserve
Generally, no. Given we are a volunteer organization, members volunteer their time. Members never expect compensation as their willingness to serve comes from a desire to give back to their community. On rare occasions, we may be paid for our volunteer work. For example, in the past federal money has been released for fire emergencies, and from time to time, detention work may be paid, but this is unusual.m
Not only do you get to give back to your community in a unique way when you join as an Auxiliary Officer or Non-Uniformed volunteer, but you also get to better yourself, expand your resume, and diversify your skill set. One of the greatest benefits of volunteering for the Sheriff is that it includes individuals from all walks of life. It is one the few places where, for example, a college student can have networking opportunities with individuals who possess 20+ years of experience in particular fields and can extend mentorship. FCSP truly provides unique opportunities in ways of networking, training, skills development, and life experiences that are unparalleled to other organizations.
We participate in many community events. You can see some of these events on our calendar . Generally, we follow these guidelines when selecting the events we can participate in:
No. We do not provide security services. We provide a law enforcement presence in the community as the middle ground to full-time law enforcement to lighten their stressful workload.
Under most circumstances, private events do not meet the state requirements for our operations. If you are unsure if your event qualifies, you can review our request conditions or contact us with any questions.
We ask that you contact us as early as possible, ideally three or more months advance notice being the minimum. Requests made with less than one month’s notice most likely cannot be accommodated. We let event planners know that our ability to support their events may be impacted by pressing law enforcement priorities. While we make every effort to fully staff events, this cannot be guaranteed if a more urgent call from the Sheriff requires a law enforcement presence.
All official requests are reviewed at an organizational level in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office to identify public safety needs. Generally, you can expect to be contacted within a week to confirm the request. Organizational and Sheriff’s Office authorization can take approximately one month. These time lengths can vary depending on the complexity of request and the availability of review board resources.
