On September 1, 1966, the city of Richmond and Eastern Kentucky University received a grant from the Office of Law Enforcement Assistance — an arm of the US Department of Justice — to begin researching the training needs for officers across the Commonwealth.
Out of this, the Department of Criminal Justice Training was born — and for the last 56 years, those interested in police work, regardless of their home in Kentucky, had to begin with a sincere course load at EKU.
For west Kentucky’s current and hopeful officers, that destination could soon be changing.
During Monday’s virtual Pennyrile Area Development District convening, Madisonville Mayor Kevin Cotton and Madisonville Police Chief Steve Bryan shared details of a 20,000 square-foot building and a 30-acre lot — located at 755 Industrial Road — that’s on the cusp of becoming the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Center.
Cotton and Bryan were among a small contingent who recently attended the legislative breakfasts in Frankfort last week, and both Cotton and Bryan noted conversations were fruitful, effective and bi-partisan.
More than 35 letters of support from regional west Kentucky dignitaries have been sent, in what could be a real boon for not only Hopkins County — but the entire area.
Bryan described original plans for a remodel include a refacing of the building, the installation of three classrooms, a TI training simulator complete with scenarios and interactive screens, a 2,000 square-foot matted room fit for defensive tactics training, an outdoor driving track and a shooting house — all of which would require about $1.5 million from the state’s budget.
An even bigger benefit from the project: the amount of savings it could bring to city and county annual budgets. In a rough estimate for Madisonville, Bryan said they spend roughly $950 per officer for lodging, food fuel and overtime on these mandatory 40-hour training and re-certifications in Richmond. Multiply that times a 54-person Madisonville department, and that comes to $51,300 a year.
According to the DOTJC map, Bryan said there are nearly 1,600 officers within Madisonville’s regional footprint — which costs a shade more than $1.5 million annually.
Cotton said support has to keep coming, in order for the House and Senate to see this value.
In-service regional offices currently exist at Highland Heights at Northern Kentucky University, at the Shelby Campus of the University of Louisville, and in Bowling Green at Western Kentucky University.
