Keeping Pulaski County residents safe depends a lot on the training received by the county’s police officers, according to Sheriff Jeff Richwine. “I know you guys get hammered when you hear us reading our training things and they’re going out of the state, but these are things I think they need to go to,” he told the county commissioners Monday. “I think that it keeps them fresh, and then it kind of keeps them on the cutting edge. We’re running into stuff now, if they never get a chance to see it or get told about it, then it could be a disaster for us.”
Richwine explained that deputies have to have 24 hours of training a year, and jailers and dispatchers are required to have a similar amount. But the sheriff said it’s important that at least some officers also get more specialized training and become qualified to share that knowledge with their colleagues. “It’s a long process,” he said. “You don’t just go down there in a day, and become a firearms instructor. You’ve got to go down and qualify. Then you’ve got to go back and take the whole course, and then you’ve got to do so much instructional hours to stay certified.”
However, the sheriff’s department’s training budget needs some more money. Richwine is asking to transfer $3,000 out of his department’s public relations line item to make up for the shortfall. The commissioners voiced their support for that and several other budget transfer requests Monday.
Commissioner Kenny Becker pointed out that additional training could lead to lower insurance costs, while Commissioner Mike McClure said it also could help the county during a potential lawsuit. “If they’re trained properly and got the certification, then our lawyer has something to stand beside, besides just the person’s word,” McClure said.
Beyond that, the sheriff is also asking county officials to maintain funding for training in next year’s budget. “I know we do a lot of training. I know that some of it is expensive,” he said. “But I don’t know that that’s the place – and I’m not saying that you guys are – but I don’t know if that’s where I want to start looking to cut, if we have to cut things.”
Richwine said his staff is putting together more detailed information on the department’s training efforts, which he plans to present to county officials in the future.
