Independence joined other cities in Kenton County on Monday when its city council voted to support the establishment of a police academy in the Northern Kentucky Region.
“I think you all are very well aware of the huge challenges we face in law enforcement recruiting,” said Mayor Chris Reinersman said to the council members and meeting attendees.
There are several reasons for the recruiting troubles, including changing attitudes to police work itself, pay competition from agencies across the river and various reforms to the state’s police pension system. Large numbers of impending retirements will likely exasperate recruiting challenges, as well.
As it relates to Monday’s resolution, Reinersman and others who have supported the establishment of a local academy argue that it could mitigate long wait times for required training of new officers. Recruits are required to attend official training academies, but with no academies in the region, they inevitably have to get trained in other parts of the state, a process that can take months. The nearest training academy is in Richmond.
“We’re talking about April or May,” said Independence Police Chief Brian Ferayorni when asked when a new recruit could expect to begin their training at an academy if the city hired them next week.
Other cities in Kenton County, including Fort Wright, Park Hills and Covington, have also advocated for establishing a local academy in hopes that it will speed up the process.
The next meeting of the Independence City Council will take place on Monday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Independence City Building on Madison Pike.