They look like cops but they're not. Now Michigan is finally paying attention

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

DETROIT — The Michigan agency in charge of law enforcement licensing has formed a committee to study the issue of unlicensed civilian reserve officers following a Detroit Free Press investigation that exposed a lack of state oversight.

The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards designated the three-member committee at a meeting earlier this month.

The agency has had the authority for nearly two years to set training requirements for reserve officers, who are generally volunteers. The law giving the agency that power went into effect in January 2017.

But officials with the agency previously told the Detroit Free Press that other responsibilities and limited resources had taken precedence.

The issue will be a priority next year, said Chairman Michael Wendling of the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, known in law-enforcement circles as MCOLES. He contends that reserve officers have a legitimate role in law enforcement.

"MCOLES would like to see them trained in a way that they can be a safe resource to be used," Wendling said.

Last month, the Free Press reported that Michigan has no state standards for reserve officers, putting it behind other states that have already implemented requirements, such as training and background checks.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/they-look-like-cops-—-and-now-michigan-is-finally-paying-attention/ar-BBPZ17X?li=BBnb7Kz

[msongs]

1. these militias need to be disbanded nt

[Thirties Child]

2. Reserves aren't militias.

Mr. Thirties was post certified in Georgia after going through the police academy at age 60. It was for an article he was writing for the AJC, and he liked it so well he volunteered as a reserve officer in both Georgia and, when we lived in New Mexico for 10 years, as a reserve officer there. He also worked court security in NM, and there is no way he was part of a militia. Nor were any of the reserves I knew either militia members or militia material. I hate to see reserves tarred as members of the militia. That is an ugly word.

[wasupaloopa]

6. You are a victim of what I call "group think" on DU. No amount of

explaining is going to stop the “militia” bull shit. It is immediate gratification they seek and they know their idea is popular. Every post that agrees with them is gratifying,

There are a number of ideas that work the same way here.

[DFW]

3. The ironic part is, these are self-proclaimed Second Amendment freaks

The Second Amendment specifically says "WELL-REGULATED MILITIA."

What part of "WELL-REGULATED" did they miss?

[GulfCoast66]

4. Looks like Michigan is about to rrgulate not Militias, but reserve officers.

Many states have reserve officers. But require pretty stringent police training and rigorous background checks. Good for Michigan.

You might want to check if your state does.

And BTW, they are not militias but offers serving on local police forces.

[DFW]

5. Depends of which State you mean.

Texas is full of loonies. There are a lot of unregulated groups out in the hinterlands

Nordrhein-Westfalen has the same stringent gun-control laws as the rest of the country. It is almost impossible to establish (outside of government control) anything like an armed group similar to the ones all over the USA.