In Crumpler v. Board of Administration (1973) 32 Cal.App.3d 567, the petitioners were animal control officers whose principal duties involved the enforcement of state and local laws pertaining to the licensing, control and maintenance of animals. They carried guns, wore police uniforms, sometimes used large police vehicles with police radios, and were occasionally called on to serve as backup units at the scenes of crimes. The board determined the animal control officers were not entitled to safety member status and accordingly had them reclassified into "miscellaneous membership." (Id. at pp. 571-574.) The superior court granted a writ of mandate overturning that decision. (Id. at pp. 573-574.) Interpreting a statute with wording very similar to section 20436(a) (former 20020 see now 20425), the Crumpler court reversed. The court declared that the phrase "active law enforcement service" "was no doubt intended to mean law enforcement services normally performed by policemen. As the Attorney General has suggested, it means the active enforcement and suppression of crimes and the arrest and detention of criminals." (Crumpler, supra, 32 Cal.App.3d at p. 578.) While animal control officers were engaged in active law enforcement "in a loose sense," so were a myriad of other public employees. Crumpler concluded that the petitioners' regular duties failed to come within the special category the Legislature reserved for those who perform police-type functions. (Crumpler, at pp. 578-579.)