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TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
 

State of California
 

JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP
 

Attorney General
 

:
 

OPINION : No. 85-107
 

:
 

of : JULY 3, 1986 

:
 

JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP :
 

Attorney General :
 

:
 

JACK R. WINKLER :
 

Deputy Attorney General :
 

:
 

THE HONORABLE PATRICK JOHNSTON, MEMBER OF THE 

CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY, requests an opinion on the following questions: 

1. What duties may be assigned to a level III reserve peace officer? 

2. What degree of supervision is required over a level III reserve peace 

officer? 

3. May a level I reserve peace officer supervise a level III reserve peace 

officer? 

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CONCLUSIONS
 

1. A level III reserve peace officer may: 

(a) Be assigned to perform search and rescue, personnel 

administration support, community public information services, communications 

technician services and scientific services without supervision; and 

(b) Be given other limited duty assignments which do not require use 

of general law enforcement powers in their routine performance and which may only be 

performed under the direct supervision of a peace officer possessing a regular POST 

basic certificate. General law enforcement powers include the investigation of crime 

including the interrogation of suspects and witnesses and search for physical evidence; 

peace officer arrests, searches and seizures; and the taking and maintaining of custody of 

persons arrested for or convicted of crime. 

2. The degree of supervision required over a level III reserve peace 

officer is that required to provide reasonable assurance that the limited duty assigned will 

be successfully performed without harm to the reserve or others. 

3. A level I reserve peace officer may supervise a level III reserve peace 

officer only if he or she possesses a regular basic certificate issued by the Commission on 

Peace Officer Standards and Training. 

ANALYSIS 

Penal Code section 830.6(a)(1) provides for the appointment of reserve 

peace officers as follows: 

"Whenever any qualified person is deputized or appointed by the 

proper authority as a reserve or auxiliary sheriff or city policeman, a deputy 

sheriff, a reserve peace officer of a regional park district, or a deputy of the 

Department of Fish and Game, and is assigned specific police functions by 

such authority, such person is a peace officer; provided, such person 

qualifies as set forth in Section 832.6, and provided further, that the 

authority of such person as a peace officer shall extend only for the duration 

of such specific assignment." 

Since all three questions concern "level III" reserve peace officers, this 

analysis will focus on that category. The "level" of a reserve peace officer refers to the 

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subdivision of section 832.6(a)1 in which the three categories are described. Thus, a level 

I reserve peace officer is described in subdivision (1), a level II reserve peace officer in 

subdivision (2) and a level III in subdivision (3) of section 832.6(a). 

The first question submitted concerns the duties which may be assigned a 

level III reserve peace officer. The assignments which may be given reserve peace 

officers are governed by section 832.6(a) which reads: 

"(a) On or after January 1, 1981, every person deputized or 

appointed as described in subdivision (a) of Section 830.6 shall have the 

powers of a peace officer only when such person is: 

"(1) Deputized or appointed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision 

(a) of Section 830.6 and is assigned to the prevention and detection of 

crime and the general enforcement of the laws of this state, whether or not 

working alone, and the person has completed the basic training prescribed 

by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. 

". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ." 

"(2) Assigned to the prevention and detection of crime and the 

general enforcement of the laws of this state while under the immediate 

supervision of a peace officer possessing a basic certificate issued by the 

Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, the person is 

engaged in a field training program approved by the Commission on Peace 

Officer Standards and Training, and the person has completed the course 

required by Section 832 and such other training prescribed by the 

commission; or 

"(3) Deployed and authorized only to carry out limited duties not 

requiring general law enforcement powers in their routine performance. 

Those persons shall be permitted to perform these duties only under the 

direct supervision of a peace officer possessing a basic certificate issued by 

the commission, and shall have completed the training required under 

Section 832 and any other training prescribed by the commission for those 

persons. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, a level III 

reserve officer may perform search and rescue, personnel administration 

support, community public information services, communications 

1 Section references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 

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technician services, and scientific services, which do not involve direct law 

enforcement without supervision." (As amended by ch. 761, Stats. 1984.) 

No judicial decisions have been found construing section 832.6. We must 

therefore interpret the section according to the applicable rules of statutory construction. 

The principle rules were summarized in Moyer v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd. (1973) 

10 Cal.3d 222, 230, as follows: 

"We begin with the fundamental rule that a court should ascertain 

the intent of the Legislature so as to effectuate the purpose of the law. In 

determining such intent the court turns first to the words themselves for the 

answer. We are required to give effect to statutes according to the usual, 

ordinary import of the language employed in framing them. If possible, 

significance should be given to every word, phrase, sentence and part of an 

act in pursuance of the legislative purpose; a construction making some 

words surplusage is to be avoided. When used in a statute words must be 

construed in context, keeping in mind the nature and obvious purpose of the 

statute where they appear. Moreover, the various parts of a statutory 

enactment must be harmonized by considering the particular clause or 

section in the context of the statutory framework as a whole." (Citations 

and quotations omitted.) 

The courts consider the legislative history of the statute as well as the circumstances of its 

enactment in determining the intent of the Legislature. (People v. Black (1982) 32 Cal.3d 

1, 5.) 

As originally enacted in chapter 987, Statutes of 1977, subdivision (3) of 

section 832.6(a) provided: "Deployed only in such limited functions as would not usually 

require general law enforcement powers and . . . [the training requirements]." The words 

"general law enforcement powers" have not been defined in the statute nor by the 

Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). Nevertheless, we believe 

that in the context of section 832.6(a), they were intended to refer to those powers which 

would normally be exercised by level I and level II reserve peace officers assigned to "the 

prevention and detection of crime and the general enforcement of the laws of this state" 

as this phrase is used in subdivisions (1) and (2). The latter phrase was interpreted by 

POST in 1978 in the course of establishing the training requirements for the three levels 

of reserves. The phrase was said to refer 

"to a Level I or Level II reserve officer assigned to: 

 investigate crime, or 

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 patrol a geographic area and 

 handle personally the full range of citizen 

requests for police services and 

 take enforcement action on the full range of law 

violations for which the reserve's department 

has law enforcement responsibilities." (POST 

Bulletin 78-13 dated August 9, 1978, 

announcing the adoption of reserve officer 

training requirements.) 

The substance of this definition was incorporated in section H-1 (revised 

July 15, 1982) of the POST Administrative Manual2 as follows: 

"2. Definitions. For purposes of clarifying Penal Code Section 

832.6, and establishing uniformity in implementing and conducting the 

POST Reserve Officer Program, the following definitions apply: 

". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ." 

"h. 'Prevention and detection of crime and the general enforcement 

of laws "refers to the peace officer authority of a Level I or Level II reserve 

officer assigned to investigate crime, or patrol a geographic area and 

personally handle the full range of requests for police services, and take 

enforcement action on the full range of law violations for which the 

reserve's department has enforcement responsibility. . . ." 

The courts give great weight to the interpretation of a statute by the 

administrative agency empowered to promulgate regulations to advance its purposes 

unless the interpretation is clearly erroneous. (Norman v. Unemployment Ins. Appeals 

Bd. (1983) 34 Cal.3d 1, 8.) 

While we have found no legislative or administrative enumeration of the 

"general law enforcement powers" referred to in subdivision (3) of section 832.6(a), they 

refer to powers which are not routinely required in performing the limited duties which 

may be assigned level III reserves. This limitation is set in marked contrast to the general 

2 The provisions of section H of the POST Administrative Manual have been adopted by 

reference in section 1007, title 11 of the California Administrative Code. 

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duties of "the prevention and detection of crime and the general enforcement of the laws" 

which may be assigned to level I and II reserves and which do routinely require the use of 

general law enforcement powers. Thus, the POST definition of such assignments 

provides a basis for determining what general law enforcement powers are routinely 

required in its performance. We believe those powers would include the investigation of 

crime including the interrogation of suspects and witnesses and search for physical 

evidence; peace officer arrests, searches and seizures; and the taking and maintaining of 

custody of persons arrested for or convicted of crime. 

The first sentence of subdivision (3) of section 832.6(a) as amended in 

1984 contains the same limitation on assignment of level III reserves as the original 1977 

version but in more explicit language. The words "not usually require" were replaced by 

"not requiring . . . in their routine performance." The "authority" as well as the 

deployment of level III reserves was limited by the 1984 amendment. However, the 

subject of the limitation was not changed, namely the use of "general law enforcement 

powers." Thus, the 1984 amendment made little change in the substantive limit the statute 

places on the unspecified limited duties which may be assigned to level III reserves. The 

second sentence of the 1984 version of subdivision (3) of section 832.6(a) carried 

forward the training requirements for level III reserves and added a new supervision 

requirement. This was the "direct supervision" of the unspecified limited duties to which 

level III reserves may be assigned under the first sentence of subdivision (1) of section 

832.6(a). The nature of such direct supervision will be discussed later. 

The third sentence added to subdivision (3) of section 832.6(a) by the 1984 

amendment created an exception to the supervision requirement by authorizing specified 

assignments for level III reserves "without supervision." The words "which do not 

involve direct law enforcement" in said third sentence are ambiguous. They could refer 

to those portions of the specified assignments which do not involve direct law 

enforcement or to a legislative determination that none of the assignments specified 

involve direct law enforcement. In our view, the context requires the latter meaning. 

Responding to the first question, we conclude that a level III reserve peace 

officer may: 

(a) be assigned to perform search and rescue, personnel 

administration support, community public information services, 

communications technicians services and scientific services without 

supervision; and 

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(b) be given other limited duty assignments which do not require 

general law enforcement powers in their routine performance if the 

performance of such duties is directly supervised as required. 

The request for this opinion asks more specifically whether level III 

reserves may, without supervision, be assigned to enforce criminal provisions of the 

Vehicle Code, Penal Code, harbor and boating laws or local ordinances by issuing 

citations or making arrests. The answer is no for two reasons. Since the enforcement 

duties described are not among those specified in the last sentence of subdivision (3) of 

section 832.6(a) to which a level III reserve may be assigned without supervision, any 

such assignment would require direct supervision as provided in the second sentence of 

the same subdivision. Further, the enforcement duties described routinely require the 

making of arrests in their performance and are therefore not a limited duty which may be 

assigned to a level III reserve under the first sentence of subdivision (3) of section 

832.6(a). 

The request for this opinion also asks specifically whether level III 

reserves, when working without direct supervision, may "handle and/or transport" 

prisoners? Again, the answer is no for two reasons. Since such assignments are not 

among those specified which the statutes state may be performed without supervision, the 

statute requires direct supervision. The taking and maintenance of custody of a person 

arrested or convicted of a crime is a general law enforcement power which is routinely 

required in the transporting and other "handling" of prisoners. 

The request for this opinion also asks specifically whether level III reserve 

peace officers working without direct supervision have the authority "of arrest, search 

and seizure." The only assignments which may lawfully be given a level III reserve 

which may be performed without direct supervision are those specified in the statute, 

namely search and rescue, personnel administration support, community public 

information services, communications technicians services and scientific services which 

the Legislature has determined do not involve direct law enforcement. However, when 

working such specified assignments, a level III reserve peace officer "is a peace officer" 

(see § 830.6(a)(1)) and "shall have the powers of a peace officer" for the duration of the 

assignment (see first sentence of § 832.6(a), supra) even though they are not routinely 

required in the performance of such assignments. Should some unusual circumstances 

arise in the performance of such assignments which call for the exercise of a peace 

officer's powers of arrest, search and seizure, the level III reserve peace officer would 

then have the authority to exercise such powers. 

The second question presented asks what degree of supervision is required 

over a level III reserve peace officer? First, we must distinguish between those 

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assignments of level III reserves which do require supervision and those which do not. 

As previously noted, the last sentence of subdivision (3) of section 632.6(a) provides that 

a level III reserve may perform specified services "without supervision." This contrasts 

with the "direct supervision" required over other assignments of level III officers in the 

first and second sentences of that subdivision. Thus, the statute provides no special 

supervision requirements with respect to search and rescue, personnel administration 

support, community public information services, communications technicians services 

and scientific services assigned to level III reserves. This does not mean that level III 

reserves perform such assignments without any supervision. They are still subject to the 

orders and directions of their superiors in the chain of command who may provide for 

such supervision of such assignments as they deem appropriate. However, there is no 

statutory requirement for a particular kind of supervision of such assignments as there is 

with others. 

With respect to other assignments of level III reserves not specified in the 

last sentence of subdivision (3) of section 632.6(a), the second sentence of that 

subdivision requires that such duties may be performed only under the "direct 

supervision" of a peace officer possessing a basic POST certificate. Neither the 

Legislature nor POST has defined the term "direct supervision" as used in this statute. 

The term must be distinguished from the term "immediate supervision" used in 

subdivision (2) of section 632.6(a) in reference to level II reserves which POST has 

defined.3 

In the context of section 832.6(a)(3), it is the limited duties assigned the 

level III reserve under the first sentence which must be performed under "direct 

supervision." We believe the Legislature imposed the supervision requirement to provide 

reasonable assurance that the level III reserve, with his or her limited training, will 

successfully perform the limited duties assigned. The form this supervision must take 

depends upon the nature of the limited duties assigned. The law places no limit on the 

kind of duties which may be assigned requiring only that they be limited, i.e., restricted to 

a narrow range of activity which is well defined as to what the level III reserve is to do 

and not do, and that such duties do not require the exercise of general law enforcement 

powers in their routine performance. Without attempting any exhaustive listing, we think 

such limited duties would include such assignments as issuing parking tickets, directing 

3 POST Administrative Manual section H-1 (revised July 15, 1982) provides: 

"2.f. 'Immediate supervision' [in section 832.6(a)] means the reserve officer acts 

under the direction of a peace officer, possessing a basic certificate, who is routinely 

in the physical proximity of and available to the reserve officer; however, allowance 

is permitted for necessary temporary separations. (Applies only to Level II reserve 

officers.)" 

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traffic, transporting equipment, acting as court bailiff, crowd control and specified 

surveillance. Circumstances could preclude even such assignments to level III reserves, 

such as when information indicates that violence may reasonably be expected which 

would require the exercise of general law enforcement powers. The kind of supervision 

which would provide reasonable assurance of the successful performance of the limited 

duty assigned does not necessarily require the close proximity of the supervising officer. 

If the assigned duty is to remain at a phone booth and phone the supervising officer at 

headquarters when he sees someone enter or leave a particular building, an occasional 

phone call to see that the reserve is alert at his post would provide reasonable assurance 

that the duty will be successfully performed. Reviewing duplicate parking tickets would 

provide reasonable assurance of the performance of that duty. Spot checks of the 

courtroom would provide reasonable assurance of the performance of a bailiff's duties. 

Thus, the nature of the supervision may be as varied as the nature of the duties to be 

supervised. One generalization may be made as the result of the statutory requirement 

that the supervision be "direct." The adjective "direct" connotes that the supervision is to 

be characterized by a close logical, causal and consequential relationship and provided 

personally without the associative effort of anyone else. (See Webster's Third New 

International Dictionary.) Thus, the supervising officer may not delegate his supervising 

responsibilities to others. The greater the risk of harm to the reserve or to others the 

closer the supervision must be to reasonably assure that performance will be without 

injury and thus successful. When the risk of harm is great, the supervisor should be in a 

position to intervene where necessary to prevent the harm. We conclude that the degree 

of supervision required over a level III reserve peace officer is that required to provide 

reasonable assurance that the limited duty assigned will be successfully performed 

without harm to the reserve or others. 

The third question is whether a level I reserve peace officer may supervise a 

level III reserve peace officer? Section 832.6(a)(3) requires that the officer supervising a 

level III reserve peace officer possess "a basic certificate issued by the commission." 

POST Administrative Manual section H-1 (revised July 15, 1982) provides "2.g. 'Peace 

officer possessing a basic certificate' refers to a regular officer or a reserve officer who 

has been issued a regular POST Basic Certificate." We think the Legislature had this 

definition in mind when it amended section 832.6 in 1984. Thus, a level I reserve peace 

officer may act as a supervising officer to a level III reserve if he possesses a regular 

POST Basic Certificate. 

Section 832.6(a)(1) authorizes assignment of level I reserve peace officers 

if they have completed the requisite training. Possession of a regular POST Basic 

Certificate is not a requisite to an assignment as a level I reserve peace officer. POST 

Administrative Manual section H-4 (revised January 1, 1981) provides: 

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"2.b. Reserve Officer Certificate: This certificate is issued by POST 

to reserve officers who meet the requirements for Level I assignment and in 

addition have completed 200 hours of general law enforcement experience. 

The certificate is not required by statute nor necessary to exercise peace 

officer powers as a Level I reserve officer." 

The requirements for a regular POST Basic Certificate are even more stringent. POST 

Administrative Manual section F-1 (revised January 26, 1984) provides the requirements 

for a regular POST Basic Certificate. These include satisfactory completion of the 

appropriate POST Basic Course Training requirements, meeting the eligibility 

requirement in section F-1-2 and the application requirements in section F-1-3 and 

completion of "a period of satisfactory service in the appropriate program . . . of no less 

than one year, as attested by the department head." 

We conclude that a level I reserve peace officer may supervise a level III 

reserve peace officer only if he or she possesses a regular POST Basic Certificate. 

***** 

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