Northern Kentucky would have more clout regarding state law enforcement training decisions under a bill that passed a House committee on Wednesday.
That bill is House Bill 482, passing the House Local Government committee unanimously. Should it become law, the Northern Kentucky Police and Sheriff’s Training Center would have a seat on the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council – the governing body that oversees police training standards and instruction statewide. That would allow the center to vote on matters affecting police training, curriculum and more in Kentucky.
The move comes as local law enforcement agencies look for ways to bring basic training closer to home.
Rep. Stephanie Dietz (R-Edgewood) is the lead sponsor of HB 482. Several NKY lawmakers are cosponsors of the bill. Owensboro Republican DJ Johnson is the bill’s primary cosponsor.
“Having a Northern Kentucky Police and Sheriff’s Training Center representative on the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council will ensure that we have a voice when it comes to meeting the training needs of not just Northern Kentucky law enforcement but law enforcement in Kentucky in general,” Dietz said.
The Kentucky Law Enforcement Council website says it is responsible for “standards for training academies, law enforcement instructors, curriculum, qualifications for attendance and expulsion, voluntary career development programs, monitor the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund and certify police officers, telecommunicators and court security officers.”
Right now, NKY recruits often travel two hours to Richmond for the required 20 weeks and 800 hours of basic training in areas including firearms, patrol procedures and tactical response. The Northern Kentucky Chiefs & Sheriff’s Training Center, established in 2022, provides continuing training for existing law enforcement but cannot provide basic training, local police told NKY mayors in 2023.
Membership on the state council would put NKY alongside other major police departments on the council, including Louisville Metro, Lexington and Bowling Green, as well as the Kentucky State Police, the commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Training, Fraternal Order of Police, Kentucky Sheriffs’ Association, Attorney General and other agencies, according to HB 482.
The Owensboro Police Department would also be added to the council under the bill.
The next stop for HB 482 is the full House, where the bill could come to a vote later this week.
HB 482 is one of hundreds of bills under consideration during the 2024 annual legislative session in Frankfort. The Kentucky General Assembly will meet in session no later than April 15.
Rebecca Hanchett is LINK nky’s Frankfort correspondent. You can reach her at rhanchett@linknky.com