More about AZ Rangers
The Arizona Rangers are divided into Companies; each Company has a Captain (Commander), one or more Lieutenants, one or more Sergeants, and the rank and file Rangers. Arizona State Law says that we are available to work as volunteer law enforcement assistance and support, and have no investigative or arrest powers, other than what all citizens have. We work at the request of and under the direction of regular Law Enforcement, so when an arrest is made, we either do a citizens' arrest and turn the arrestee over to our supervising LEO, or make it an arrest directly by the LEO with whom we are working at the time.
The same law says we are also available to provide armed security for public events, especially for non-profit organizations. We provide support to positive moral youth organizations. We also consider it our duty to honor the memory of the original 1901-1909 Territorial Rangers, some of whom were the founders of our volunteer organization in 1957.
We have a good working relationship with several Law Enforcement agencies, but some others are not open to working with non-LEOs. We think that is very understandable; since many of our Rangers are former or even active Officers, and we understand the feelings. You don't trust your life to an unknown, unproven actor. We understand that we have to earn the respect and confidence of each new agency.
Training is done at our own Arizona Rangers Training Academy (ARTA), which sticks closely to the AZ POST requirements on the subjects covered, but tailors the material to our specific situation as volunteers.
It's a great way to serve our communities, and to provide some much-needed support for our embattled Law Enforcement. They deserve all the credit, support, and respect we can give them as they put their lives on the line for us every day.
