Trump administration abruptly ends key law enforcement program at wildlife refug

[wolfbait]

Trump administration abruptly ends key law enforcement program at wildlife refuges

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/409455-trump-administration-ends-key-law-enforcement-program-at-wildlife

[boneaddict]

That’s one perspective.   

[bigtex]

This is actually a good move that's been a long time coming. This does not end all uniformed LEOS on National Wildlife Refuges. What it does is remove law enforcement authority from USFWS employees who held a non-LE position but possessed law enforcement authority. Such as being a biologist but also strapping on the badge and gun during hunting season. It's kind of the equivalent of a reserve deputy/officer position with your local PD and SO.

Basically what this comes down to is the USFWS (this actually has nothing to do with Trump as it actually started after 9/11) is saying those who possess USFWS LE authority need to be fulltime officers and not part time officers.

[boneaddict]

    Thank you.   That article is very skewed.

[Igor]

This is actually a good move that's been a long time coming. This does not end all uniformed LEOS on National Wildlife Refuges. What it does is remove law enforcement authority from USFWS employees who held a non-LE position but possessed law enforcement authority. Such as being a biologist but also strapping on the badge and gun during hunting season. It's kind of the equivalent of a reserve deputy/officer position with your local PD and SO.

Basically what this comes down to is the USFWS (this actually has nothing to do with Trump as it actually started after 9/11) is saying those who possess USFWS LE authority need to be fulltime officers and not part time officers.

Why is this a "good move" ?  As long as they are sworn officers, who cares if they are "fulltime" or "part time" officers ?

[Sandberm]

This is actually a good move that's been a long time coming. This does not end all uniformed LEOS on National Wildlife Refuges. What it does is remove law enforcement authority from USFWS employees who held a non-LE position but possessed law enforcement authority. Such as being a biologist but also strapping on the badge and gun during hunting season. It's kind of the equivalent of a reserve deputy/officer position with your local PD and SO.

Basically what this comes down to is the USFWS (this actually has nothing to do with Trump as it actually started after 9/11) is saying those who possess USFWS LE authority need to be fulltime officers and not part time officers.

Are you saying Law Enforcement should have never been a part of the job description for USFWS employees and it was wrong to place that added danger to their job?

[CAMPMEAT]

The article says that they check for " bullets " used. I didn't know they used bullets in Cali for waterfowl hunting....

[bigtex]

This is actually a good move that's been a long time coming. This does not end all uniformed LEOS on National Wildlife Refuges. What it does is remove law enforcement authority from USFWS employees who held a non-LE position but possessed law enforcement authority. Such as being a biologist but also strapping on the badge and gun during hunting season. It's kind of the equivalent of a reserve deputy/officer position with your local PD and SO.

Basically what this comes down to is the USFWS (this actually has nothing to do with Trump as it actually started after 9/11) is saying those who possess USFWS LE authority need to be fulltime officers and not part time officers.

Why is this a "good move" ?  As long as they are sworn officers, who cares if they are "fulltime" or "part time" officers ?

How about standards and experience?

Do you think the guy who puts the badge and gun on for a total of one month out of the year is up to the same speed who does it every single day?

There's a reason why most LE agencies who do have a reserve program restrict their officers from patrolling alone, or even patrolling at all. It's also the reason why most LE agencies have gotten rid of reserve programs.

Law enforcement with changing regulations, policies, court decisions, etc is a full time job, not a part time one.

[bigtex]

This is actually a good move that's been a long time coming. This does not end all uniformed LEOS on National Wildlife Refuges. What it does is remove law enforcement authority from USFWS employees who held a non-LE position but possessed law enforcement authority. Such as being a biologist but also strapping on the badge and gun during hunting season. It's kind of the equivalent of a reserve deputy/officer position with your local PD and SO.

Basically what this comes down to is the USFWS (this actually has nothing to do with Trump as it actually started after 9/11) is saying those who possess USFWS LE authority need to be fulltime officers and not part time officers.

Are you saying Law Enforcement should have never been a part of the job description for USFWS employees and it was wrong to place that added danger to their job?

Where in the world did you get that?

I am saying it's a full time job, not a part time one. USFWS is the only federal agency that lets people who are not in law enforcement positions (such as maintenance, biology, interpretation) strap on the gun and suddenly become a federal LEO.

[ribka]

[No FLETC TRAINING or quarterly quals?

If so that's crazy






quote author=bigtex link=topic=234164.msg3125017#msg3125017 date=1544117780]

This is actually a good move that's been a long time coming. This does not end all uniformed LEOS on National Wildlife Refuges. What it does is remove law enforcement authority from USFWS employees who held a non-LE position but possessed law enforcement authority. Such as being a biologist but also strapping on the badge and gun during hunting season. It's kind of the equivalent of a reserve deputy/officer position with your local PD and SO.

Basically what this comes down to is the USFWS (this actually has nothing to do with Trump as it actually started after 9/11) is saying those who possess USFWS LE authority need to be fulltime officers and not part time officers.

Are you saying Law Enforcement should have never been a part of the job description for USFWS employees and it was wrong to place that added danger to their job?

Where in the world did you get that?

I am saying it's a full time job, not a part time one. USFWS is the only federal agency that lets people who are not in law enforcement positions (such as maintenance, biology, interpretation) strap on the gun and suddenly become a federal LEO.
[/quote]

[Humptulips]

To put it in perspective it affects 51 employees nationwide and the article says these people won't be able to do anything if they see a lawbreaker. They can still act as witness.
Does not seem like that big of a deal either way to me.

[bigtex]

[No FLETC TRAINING or quarterly quals?

If so that's crazy

So here's some backstory on this:

Prior to the 9/11 era uniformed LE for USFWS was largely done by those who were considered to be "dual function" officers. Simply put, they were not full time LEOs. Come the late 90s USFWS started hiring more fulltime LEOs. After 9/11 the Department of the Interior conducted a report on all of their LE programs and for USFWS it suggested eliminating the "dual function" officers as it is not a professional way of doing business (what other agency relies heavily on part time LEOs???).

So after that report USFWS removed LE authority from hundreds of "dual function" officers and stated they will not issue LE authority to individuals who want to be "dual function" officers. It essentially meant the "dual function" program would end when the last commissioned employee retired. Well here it is in 2018 and there were still 50 or so "dual function" officers out there. One of the reasons they were still around is because they did not qualify for federal LE retirement which requires officers to retire at age 57. So a fulltime USFWS LEO is kicked out the door at 57 but a "dual function" LEO could still be working at age 80. So with all of this in mind the USFWS decided in September that by December 31, 2018 the remaining 50 or so "dual function" officers would have their credentials rescinded and the "dual function" program would cease to exist.

Realistically, this will only impact the Rocky Mountain and SE areas of the country as all other regions have already pushed their "dual function" officers out the door years ago.

Ribka-

As far as training goes yes they had to qualify twice a years on firearms (federal land management agencies require twice a year quals not quarterly). As far as FLETC goes yes they had to attend FLETC but most were hired in the late 80s or 90s when FLETC was several weeks long, not several months like it is today.

[wolfbait]

   Thank you.   That article is very skewed.