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Colorado Rangers
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Colorado Rangers
The Colorado Rangers Law Enforcement Shared Reserve (CLER), known publicly as the Colorado Rangers, is a statewide police agency in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is a statewide law enforcement reserve of sworn POST-certified peace officers who serve as force multipliers, allowing Colorado law enforcement agencies to reduce costs and manpower through a shared force. It is the only such statewide police reserve force in the United States. The Colorado Rangers have existed in some capacity since Colorado Territory's formation in 1861, though the modern agency was formed in 2017 from the Colorado Mounted Rangers.
Organized before the Colorado Territory was recognized as a state, the Colorado Rangers continue to serve as the oldest statewide law enforcement agency in Colorado.[citation needed]
The Colorado Rangers were founded in 1861 as state officers which served to keep the peace and to guard gold and silver shipments from Colorado mines. Governor William E. Sweet signed an executive order on January 29, 1923, cutting off funding in order to prevent political use of the officers involvement with labor disputes and to weaken prohibition enforcement. On April 1, 1927 Governor Billy Adams fulfilled a campaign promise to repeal the Department of Safety Act, officially disbanding the Colorado Rangers and with it, all statewide law enforcement in Colorado. The Colorado Rangers were subsequently reorganized as the Colorado Mounted Rangers and remained a statutory auxiliary until reorganization as a statewide shared reserve.
Colorado's concept of sharing a statewide police reserve is the first ever implemented in the United States. The agency was created pursuant the recommendations of a task force enacted in 2016 by the Colorado Legislature that was delegated to study the Peace Officer Certification and Authority of the Colorado Mounted Rangers. The task force was mandated by state statute to include the Colorado Attorney General, a county sheriff, the Chief of the Colorado State Patrol, the Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the Colonel of the Colorado Mounted Rangers.
This Task Force studied the functionality of the Colorado Mounted Rangers while assessing the needs of law enforcement throughout the state. Members of the task force saw a need for creating a governmental structure that could support a viable law enforcement reserve agency. The agency needed to be prepared to serve as a supplement to any size police agency, be widely available throughout the state, and available on a 24/7 basis. The idea of sharing a reserve police force would create predictability and allow for useful planning and budgeting by partner agencies. Partner agencies would each pay budgeted amounts annually into the new agency that would fund proper training and management of the Colorado Rangers. The concept was a winning formula for agencies which allowed them to retire less functional police and sheriff reserve programs and created access to uniformly trained police officers on an as needed basis. The idea of sharing resources beyond local jurisdiction limits reduced duplicative administrative costs and potential liabilities that exist with locally managed reserve programs.
In 2017, several municipalities worked together to create an intergovernmental agreement that established an independent local government named the Colorado Rangers Law Enforcement Shared Reserve (CLER) that would assume the public title of Colorado Rangers. The governmental entity was designed specifically to provide Colorado P.O.S.T. certified reserve police officers to agencies throughout the state, which significantly expanded the supportive law enforcement role of the Colorado Mounted Rangers and transformed it back into a fully authorized police agency that is capable of being seamlessly integrated with police agencies that have temporary personnel needs.
As part of the reorganization, the Colorado Mounted Rangers would retire its statutory law enforcement auxiliary and transition their officers into the Colorado Rangers Law Enforcement Shared Reserve. Rangers who were serving at the time were invited to complete Colorado P.O.S.T. approved police reserve academies tuition-free, funded by an initial $800,000 grant from the state of Colorado. Those officers that passed the stringent training requirements were allowed to join the new Colorado Rangers entity as certified peace officers. The Colorado Mounted Rangers officially ceased its operational law enforcement auxiliary function on July 15, 2018, the organization continues to exist as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that provides foundational fundraising support for the Colorado Rangers. All references to the Colorado Mounted Rangers were updated in Colorado law (Colorado Revised Statutes) to reflect the appropriate name of Colorado Rangers in March 2025. In an extraordinary show of support to the Colorado Rangers and their service to the State of Colorado, the bill updating statute was passed by the Colorado General Assembly with 100% support in both the Senate and the House of Representatives before being signed by the Governor.
The statewide shared reserve is overseen by an appointed Board of Governors whose members are appropriate and qualified for law enforcement oversight and administration guidance. A police command structure would be established for agency administration, all sworn personnel would be required to obtain P.O.S.T certification, and officers would be granted peace officer status and authority while on duty.
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Colorado Rangers
The Colorado Rangers Law Enforcement Shared Reserve (CLER), known publicly as the Colorado Rangers, is a statewide police agency in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is a statewide law enforcement reserve of sworn POST-certified peace officers who serve as force multipliers, allowing Colorado law enforcement agencies to reduce costs and manpower through a shared force. It is the only such statewide police reserve force in the United States. The Colorado Rangers have existed in some capacity since Colorado Territory's formation in 1861, though the modern agency was formed in 2017 from the Colorado Mounted Rangers.
Organized before the Colorado Territory was recognized as a state, the Colorado Rangers continue to serve as the oldest statewide law enforcement agency in Colorado.[citation needed]
The Colorado Rangers were founded in 1861 as state officers which served to keep the peace and to guard gold and silver shipments from Colorado mines. Governor William E. Sweet signed an executive order on January 29, 1923, cutting off funding in order to prevent political use of the officers involvement with labor disputes and to weaken prohibition enforcement. On April 1, 1927 Governor Billy Adams fulfilled a campaign promise to repeal the Department of Safety Act, officially disbanding the Colorado Rangers and with it, all statewide law enforcement in Colorado. The Colorado Rangers were subsequently reorganized as the Colorado Mounted Rangers and remained a statutory auxiliary until reorganization as a statewide shared reserve.
Colorado's concept of sharing a statewide police reserve is the first ever implemented in the United States. The agency was created pursuant the recommendations of a task force enacted in 2016 by the Colorado Legislature that was delegated to study the Peace Officer Certification and Authority of the Colorado Mounted Rangers. The task force was mandated by state statute to include the Colorado Attorney General, a county sheriff, the Chief of the Colorado State Patrol, the Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the Colonel of the Colorado Mounted Rangers.
This Task Force studied the functionality of the Colorado Mounted Rangers while assessing the needs of law enforcement throughout the state. Members of the task force saw a need for creating a governmental structure that could support a viable law enforcement reserve agency. The agency needed to be prepared to serve as a supplement to any size police agency, be widely available throughout the state, and available on a 24/7 basis. The idea of sharing a reserve police force would create predictability and allow for useful planning and budgeting by partner agencies. Partner agencies would each pay budgeted amounts annually into the new agency that would fund proper training and management of the Colorado Rangers. The concept was a winning formula for agencies which allowed them to retire less functional police and sheriff reserve programs and created access to uniformly trained police officers on an as needed basis. The idea of sharing resources beyond local jurisdiction limits reduced duplicative administrative costs and potential liabilities that exist with locally managed reserve programs.
In 2017, several municipalities worked together to create an intergovernmental agreement that established an independent local government named the Colorado Rangers Law Enforcement Shared Reserve (CLER) that would assume the public title of Colorado Rangers. The governmental entity was designed specifically to provide Colorado P.O.S.T. certified reserve police officers to agencies throughout the state, which significantly expanded the supportive law enforcement role of the Colorado Mounted Rangers and transformed it back into a fully authorized police agency that is capable of being seamlessly integrated with police agencies that have temporary personnel needs.
As part of the reorganization, the Colorado Mounted Rangers would retire its statutory law enforcement auxiliary and transition their officers into the Colorado Rangers Law Enforcement Shared Reserve. Rangers who were serving at the time were invited to complete Colorado P.O.S.T. approved police reserve academies tuition-free, funded by an initial $800,000 grant from the state of Colorado. Those officers that passed the stringent training requirements were allowed to join the new Colorado Rangers entity as certified peace officers. The Colorado Mounted Rangers officially ceased its operational law enforcement auxiliary function on July 15, 2018, the organization continues to exist as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that provides foundational fundraising support for the Colorado Rangers. All references to the Colorado Mounted Rangers were updated in Colorado law (Colorado Revised Statutes) to reflect the appropriate name of Colorado Rangers in March 2025. In an extraordinary show of support to the Colorado Rangers and their service to the State of Colorado, the bill updating statute was passed by the Colorado General Assembly with 100% support in both the Senate and the House of Representatives before being signed by the Governor.
The statewide shared reserve is overseen by an appointed Board of Governors whose members are appropriate and qualified for law enforcement oversight and administration guidance. A police command structure would be established for agency administration, all sworn personnel would be required to obtain P.O.S.T certification, and officers would be granted peace officer status and authority while on duty.
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