They don't do it for the pay because there isn't any.
But the time that reserve deputies volunteer with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office lightens the load for the full-time deputies and offers a low-cost backup for officers patrolling the counties.
Terry Chambers spends his days working security at TVA, and he'll soon spend at least 20 hours a month patrolling Hamilton County as a reserve deputy.
Even with a firefighting and security background, Chambers was amazed to learn what deputies go through during a shift, which helped him appreciate the work.
"People don't want the cops around until they need them," he said.
Chambers and 27 other reservists graduated from the 80-hour training program Thursday night.
This year's class nearly doubles the 30 reserve deputies in county ranks two years ago, said Capt. Lynn Triplett, head of the patrol division for the department.
Sheriff Jim Hammond made a push to increase the reserve ranks when he took office two years ago both as a way to get more community involvement in safety and to save money on overtime pay for deputies.
It costs an estimated $2,000 to train and equip a reserve deputy with a firearm, radio and uniform, he said.
Based on the hourly rate of pay if all 58 reserve deputies work just the minimum 20 hours each month the county would save more than $220,000 annually.
Michael and Cindy Ward, a married couple who graduated Thursday, work with computers for their pay.
Cindy is a Web programmer; Michael works for UTC's information technology department.
They started off wanting to join the mounted horse patrol, which is made up of 10 reserve deputies who work search and rescue operations, special events such as the Riverbend Festival and department ceremonies. Reserve deputies worked 300 hours at the festival this year.
But after going through training the couple decided to do vehicle patrol. They'll have to work different shifts with 15-year-old and 12-year-old children at home.
The 40-something parents said their friends have differing ideas about this type of volunteering.
Cindy said her friends want to know more about it, but her mom thinks she's nuts.
The deputies must complete the training and volunteer a minimum of 20 hours a month to maintain Police Officer Standards Training certification.
Nine of the 58 reserve deputies are chaplains, five work on the SWAT team, 10 in mounted patrol and 34 in vehicle patrol.