UCSB students are used to feeling like they are at their teacher’s mercy, but they are probably not used to facing one with the power to throw them in the slammer.

The Santa Barbara Police Dept. named UCSB communication Professor Howard Giles Reserve Corps Officer of the Year in an awards ceremony held Dec. 19, 2003. This is the second consecutive year that Giles’ peers have voted to award him this title. Giles has worked as a reserve officer since 1996, devoting roughly 250 hours to the job each year. He holds the position of sergeant, with full police powers.

“All our reserves give a tremendous amount, but some just go above and beyond and take their involvement to the next level,” said Capt. Bob Lowry of SBPD’s patrol division. “It’s a real testament to his contribution to the department that his own reserve officer peers have given him this award two years running.”

Giles said he was inspired to become a police officer after slightly losing interest in academics in 1980, but that he encountered an obstacle.

“They told me flat-out that I was too old,” Giles said. “It wasn’t until years later that I found out I could actually work with them as a reserve officer by going through SBPD’s Citizen Academy. It sounds clich

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