By JARED MILLER
Wakulla Sheriff
From the Desk of Sheriff Miller:
If you were to take a poll of the community and ask about the functions of the Sheriff’s Office, I’m sure you would get a wide range of answers.
Most people know that Road Patrol Deputies patrol the streets answering calls and enforcing laws, and that our Detectives spend their days investigating various crimes which have been committed.
One of the areas that is often unknown by the public is the role the WCSO Reserve Unit plays at the Sheriff’s Office and within our community. It’s safe to say that the Sheriff’s Office and our role in the community would be very different without this group of dedicated individuals working here.
For those that may not know what the Reserve Unit is, it is an all-volunteer unit of the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office. The WCSO Reserve Unit contains both volunteers who are sworn deputies as well as nonsworn Sheriff’s Safety Officers. The WCSO Reserve Unit regularly assists with almost every function of the Sheriff’s Office completely free to the citizens of Wakulla County, all the while working other jobs in their private lives.
Reserve Deputies can often be found assisting our Road Patrol Division to add extra manpower during active times, or when we have manpower shortages. They also assist with our Civil and Warrants Division with serving court paperwork and are an invaluable asset during major storms in our county.
However, perhaps the greatest services the WCSO Reserve Unit provides to our county is the work they do with the many parades and festivals Wakulla County has.
Almost every community event held in Wakulla County with exception of a small few require either general security, traffic control or both. As much as possible these events are staffed by members of the reserve unit. This is done at no cost to the community at large. Almost without fail when you see a Sheriff’s Office member at a parade or festival, they are their unpaid and volunteering their time to serve our community.
Over the course of a year reserve members donate thousands of hours in service to our county. This is certainly a labor of love, because, as mentioned earlier, most of our members have fulltime jobs, they work in addition to their volunteer hours.
Please know we are always on the look out for new members who wish to serve our community through the reserve unit. If you have prior experience as a sworn law enforcement officer being a Reserve Deputy allows you a way to maintain your law enforcement standards and keep your training up to date.
If you or someone you know may be interested in becoming a Reserve Deputy or volunteering as a Sheriff’s Safety Officer, please contact Lt. Yarbrough at 850-745-7186 or jyarbrough@wcso.org.
Your Sheriff,
Jared F. Miller
