# Civil Service/Reserve Academy Questions



## oppisetter (Mar 27, 2019)

Hello all,

I am being sponsored to an upcoming reserve academy. It was to begin September 3rd, however it was pushed back to September 30th. The reason given is that several departments want to hire part timers off of the new list, which (allegedly) comes out tomorrow.

Does anyone know if it is common practice for civil service departments to hire reserves off the list? Would they send them to the reserve academy or a FT academy? I scored a 90 on the exam this March. Hoping for a shot somewhere. Also, if anyone knows just a couple CS departments that hire part timers I'd appreciate it! I sent my score basically everywhere anyway.

Thanks all in advance, Masscops is a gem.

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## PG1911 (Jul 12, 2011)

From what I've seen, it depends on the department. The majority of civil service departments that use reserve officers do not include the reserve guys under civil service. However, a few of them do. I can't think of which ones do off the top of my head, nor do I know whether or not the reserves in those PDs are actually considered civil service, or if the departments simply utilize the CS list in order to create an eligibility pool.


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## AB7 (Feb 12, 2019)

Greenfield and Holyoke hire reserves off of civil service. Of course I’d be shocked if they exhausted all resident applicants to fill their ranks. So that’s pretty much to say you’d never get a chance unless you lived and claimed residency there.

I’m not sure where in the state you reside, but if you have the option you should move to the town you want to work if that town or city participates in CS. 

As PG said, some hire off CS and some don’t, even if they are a CS department. There’s also departments that don’t hire reserves like Springfield. 

Even beyond that, there’s towns like West Springfield who have “special police” that are allowed to do details but don’t do patrol or most other police duties. 

Don’t discount your hospitals and colleges either. Some will send you to SSPO or a full time municipal academy within 1 year of hire with no money out of your pocket and a guaranteed paycheck while you attend. There may be more money, action, or opportunities for advancement vs a smaller municipal department.


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## pahapoika (Nov 5, 2006)

I know of three towns right next to each other on the South Shore and they all have different designations for their part-time officers.

Town #1 has "Auxiliary" They do patrol every weekend for free but get put on the detail list. 

Town #2 has "Specials". All they do is road details directing traffic.

Town #3 has "Reserve - intermittents" . They do regular police work and get put on a list for full-time positions when they come up.

As it was explained to me many years ago Massachusetts is comprised of 351 fiefdoms. Each town makes up their own rules depending on the Chief or the local politicians.

We had a woman retire, got a job working as a special down the Cape in her hometown. Everything was peachy until the new Chief came in and said no more specials.

Have had people challenge me here before but still firmly believe it's Massachusetts, it's politics and you better be ready play the game.

Maybe if you are a veteran , have residency and scored high enough mark you might be above the fray.

For the rest of us " its a long way to the top If you want to rock and roll"

Get out there , get active, get a job. Doesn't matter where you work. Corrections, Campus, Hospital, etc. It's all going to be full of young people looking to get on the job.

Get the retirement clock ticking. Goes by quick.

Good luck.


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## oppisetter (Mar 27, 2019)

Lots of useful info. Thank you guys, I appreciate it. A little more background, I'm 21 years old and have residency in a CS city, residing in central Mass. No vet status. Thanks again guys 

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## felony (Oct 24, 2014)

Reserve intermittent or permanent intermittent, is the CS designation for reserve. They are hired from pt to ft as openings become available. Hull does this and the town I live in does this. Cs only allows x amount of PI per department. However, a cs department may hire as many non civil service reserves as it wants like foxboro.


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## RodneyFarva (Jan 18, 2007)

pahapoika said:


> Town #3 has "Reserve - intermittents" . They do regular police work and get put on a list for full-time positions when they come up.


I have been grossly misinformed.


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## 02136colonel (Jul 21, 2018)

There are definitely RI or PI police officers who are civil service. Basically used as a farm team for full time openings. The town I used to live in (Woburn) does it.
What surprises me more is that a town will complete interviews, backgrounds, medical and psychological testing, and have time to enroll their candidates, in less than four weeks


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## pahapoika (Nov 5, 2006)

RodneyFarva said:


> I have been grossly misinformed.


I wouldn't know that about my friend.

It's just an observation made working on the South Shore. As a former deputy it was interesting to see how the different towns had their own separate rules .

The other bit of information used was a law passed a couple years ago stating that you can now remain a reserve intermittent indefinitely.

Originally let's say some firefighter worked as a reserve police officer in his town. After after being offered a full-time position for the 3rd time they we're terminated.

Found the whole thing truly maddening . Although some people will tell you it's no big deal. They're usually the ones with the hookup.

They don't care what you call me as long as the checks keep coming in and guess at the end of the day that's probably all that matters


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## oppisetter (Mar 27, 2019)

02136colonel said:


> What surprises me more is that a town will complete interviews, backgrounds, medical and psychological testing, and have time to enroll their candidates, in less than four weeks


Right? I almost think they're might be more to the postponement than the reason given... oh well, not my business. Massachusetts gonna Massachusetts lol

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