While many kind-hearted volunteers give their time at soup kitchens or nursing homes, others may serve in the line of danger. Bob Craig of Thorntown is reserve commander for the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, overseeing 19 reserve officers.
The department’s reserves are made up of individuals performing police duties, normally giving about 20 hours each month to serve their communities without a paycheck for that service.
Since he became a reserve deputy in 1995, Craig has logged more than 10,000 hours volunteering for the BCSO.
Boone County Sheriff Ken Campbell promoted Craig to this position in January 2007. Campbell said Craig is a “leader with common sense principles.”
A sales support employee at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Craig typically works as a reserve for upward of 60 hours each month, performing a wide variety of duties. He primarily oversees the day-to-day operations of the reserves, and also serves on the crisis negotiations team for the sheriff’s department, realizes the danger involved.
“People (that want to do you harm) can care less who the person is behind the uniform,” Craig said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a reserve or not. When you’re out there, the risks are real.”
Craig relishes everything the position brings. He said he also enjoys connecting with kids in Boone County — whether it be speaking at a D.A.R.E. program, or talking with teens going through a troubling time. For his work, he is one of more than a half-dozen Boone County reserve officers to receive a Presidential Volunteer Service Award.
“Another reason why I got involved — giving back to the community,” Craig said. “Volunteerism is an intricate part of our community.”
And the Thorntown resident can definitely claim Boone County, as a whole, as his community. Born in Indianapolis, he moved to Zionsville at age 9, where he attended Zionsville Elementary School. He then moved to the Lebanon school district, and attended Lebanon High School. After his sophomore year at Lebanon, Craig made another move to Western Boone High School.
Craig joined the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Arizona and Germany, and after his service he returned to central Indiana. He served as law enforcement in the Air Force, and after nine years back in Boone County, he was introduced to the prospect of being a reserve.
“It’s something I have always wanted to do,” he said.
Even though Craig isn’t a full-time law officer, he has always felt that connection to the badge. He has attended the funerals of 39 of the last 41 line-of-duty deaths in Indiana, and believes it’s important to recognize the sacrifices police officers make.
“It’s my way of paying respects,” he said.
Campbell, who began his law enforcement career as a reserve, is a big advocate of the program.
“They’re a great group for our community — they not only volunteer, but volunteer in harm’s way,” Campbell said. “I can’t say enough about what these folks do.”
Features
Service with high risk, higher satisfaction
n Bob Craig leads volunteer police reserves in Boone County
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