23 officers receiving crucial training to protect their communities

MADISONVILLE, KY - On Feb. 28, 2025, Gov. Andy Beshear was joined by state and local officials and law enforcement personnel to welcome the first basic training academy class to Western Kentucky. This facility is a testament to the administration’s pledge to make Kentucky a national leader in public safety while ensuring those who protect the commonwealth have the tools and resources available to stay safe.

“The launch of law enforcement training in Western Kentucky marks a significant step forward in Team Kentucky’s commitment to public safety,” said Gov. Beshear. “This partnership between the commonwealth and the city of Madisonville ensures that officers across the region receive top-tier training closer to home and their families. Together, we are investing in the future of law enforcement and reinforcing our dedication to those who serve and protect us.”

For many years, officers from every county in the commonwealth have traveled to Richmond to receive the state-mandated 20 weeks of basic training. For the first time since the training became mandatory in 1998, Kentucky is simultaneously offering training in two locations. The Department of Criminal Justice Training will train officers in a building provided by the Madisonville Police Department while Team Kentucky constructs a $50 million multipurpose training facility in Madisonville.

“The greatest impact on the safety and security of all Kentuckians is in the quality of policing and law enforcement training, and we are ensuring that quality is high,” said Mike Bosse, commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Training. “This facility will improve recruitment opportunities for local agencies, create jobs in Madisonville and ensure new officers have access to the training they needed to create a better, safer Kentucky for all.”

The first class of recruits includes 23 Kentuckians serving with 17 different law enforcement agencies. They will receive more than 800 hours of instruction in major training areas: patrol procedures, physical training, vehicle operations, defensive tactics, criminal law, traffic and DUI, firearms, criminal investigations, cultural awareness, bias-related crimes and tactical responses to crisis situations. They are scheduled to graduate in June.

Since December 2019, the Beshear-Coleman administration has graduated 1,652 officers from the basic training academy.

Several local leaders in attendance today stated how important the new training facility is to the local economy and community safety. 

“We are incredibly proud to welcome the new Western Kentucky Training Academy to Madisonville. Having a police academy in Western Kentucky is a game-changer for our region. For too long, officers from our communities have had to travel to Richmond for training, creating challenges in recruitment, retention and accessibility,” Madisonville Mayor Kevin Cotton said. “This new academy ensures that we can train and equip our law enforcement right here at home, strengthening our local departments and keeping our communities safer. It’s about investing in our officers, our region and the future of public safety in Western Kentucky.”

“Opening this training facility is a great day not only for Western Kentucky, but for all of Kentucky.?It will lower the cost burden on every county and city in Western Kentucky and will increase the capacity and availability of training across the state,” Hopkins County Judge/Executive Jack Whitfield said. “The decreased wait times to get a trained officer in our law enforcement agencies increase the safety of every Kentuckian.?I am thrilled that we are playing a part in advancing law enforcement in Kentucky.”

“The mayor and I are very grateful for the support from the governor’s office, the legislators who voted for this and the people at the Department of Criminal Justice Training, who have been great to work with,” said Madisonville Police Chief Steve Bryan. “From our standpoint, we are humble servants trying to be the best partners we can be and make this entire transition as smooth as possible until the department’s western campus is built.”

The Department of Criminal Justice Training provides basic training for city and county police officers, sheriffs’ deputies, university police and airport police throughout the state, excluding only the Louisville Metro Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Bowling Green Police Department, Owensboro Police Department and Kentucky State Police, each of which have independent academies.

The Beshear-Coleman administration has taken several steps to support law enforcement while creating safer communities.

Since taking office, Gov. Beshear has awarded more than $12 million in grant funding to assist state and local law enforcement agencies with enhancing public and officer safety, curbing the sale of illegal drugs and fighting addiction, and more than $149 million in grant funding to victim service agencies across the commonwealth.

Recently, Gov. Beshear announced that Kentucky has secured another low recidivism rate. Nearly 70% of people released from state custody over the past two years have not been re-incarcerated.

The 2023 Crime in Kentucky report, released in July of last year, indicates crime rates have remained stable with a decline in offenses for homicide, burglary, robbery, sex offenses, kidnapping and gambling. For the last three consecutive years, homicide rates have been declining.

In June, Gov. Beshear?announced?that the 2023 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report showed that the commonwealth saw a nearly 10% decrease in drug overdose deaths last year. This is the second consecutive annual decrease.

At the beginning of his second term, the Governor proposed a $500 increase to the law enforcement annual training stipend, but the General Assembly chose to provide a combined $262 increase over the next two years. The budget signed by the Governor raises the training stipend to an all-time high of $4,562 by fiscal year 2026. Additionally, the Governor is providing part-time law enforcement officers an annual training stipend for the first time in the history of the commonwealth.

In July 2023, Gov. Beshear broke ground in Richmond on a new law enforcement training facility named in honor of Jody Cash, who lost his life in the line of duty May 16, 2022, while serving as chief deputy of the Calloway County Sheriff’s Department.