UNION COUNTY — The Union County Sheriff’s Office is reviving the deputy reserve program.

Sheriff Cody Bowen, who started as a reserve officer in 2009, said the program is a critical way for the sheriff’s office to get involved with the community — a hallmark of his campaign to bring transparency and openness to the law enforcement agency.

“It’s an important way for people to give back to the community,” Bowen said. “It’s a necessity for this department to be a part of this community, and we have to have reserves.”

Bowen said he wasn’t sure why the previous administration canceled the program, but he hopes reviving it will provide open channels for the community to interact with the sheriff’s office — and provide a way for people interested in law enforcement to become officers in the future.

Nearly all of the deputies in the sheriff’s office have at one time or another served in a reserve program. Bowen said he hopes to add about 10 reserve deputies to the office through the program. He also said he’s looking to hire more full-time staff in the future.

“This office has been understaffed ever since its existence,” he said. “That’s no kidding. That’s from patrol to corrections.”

Primarily, the reserves will ride with full-time staff, but there will be opportunities for the reserve officers to do security work for events in the future.

“I would like to see it rolled out now, but honestly, it’s going to be April before we get all the applications in,” Bowen said.

“It takes time. The sooner the better,” he added. “We got the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show that’s coming up. They’re gonna do the rodeo this year. Hopefully we’ll have some reserves that are ready to go by then.”

Bowen also said he plans to add a cadet program that will train alongside the reserve officers.

“Working as a school resource officer, I saw a lot of our kids in high school who are interested in law enforcement, but there’s nothing that holds them in that field, if you will, between the ages of 18 to 21, and we end up losing them in that profession,” said Bowen. “They go find something else.”

Deputy Dustin Heath will be the coordinator for the reserve program, and deputies Justin Hernandez and Tony Humphries will serve as co-coordinators, while deputy Patricia Kelly will be leading the cadet program for the office — a program she went through as a young officer.

Cadets won’t carry firearms, but they will receive basic training on self-defense and conflict resolution. The reserves and the cadets will train under the same conditions and receive much of the same coursework through the program at the sheriff’s office.

Like the fire department volunteer program, Bowen said, the reserve program expects to lose about half of their applicants through the training process before graduation — usually due to time commitments or lack of suitability or motivation to complete the program. The program itself will take approximately six months to complete.

Those accepted by the sheriff’s office into the program will have to provide their own gear and equipment, although the sheriff’s office will provide critical safety equipment, such as vests and uniforms. If necessary, deputies will donate or lend gear to those who need it.

“We’re not going to lose anybody,” Bowen said, “because they can’t afford to do it.”