FRANKFORT - The Kentucky State Police, long used to losing its troopers to law enforcement jobs elsewhere, is now actively recruiting officers from Kentucky police agencies to fill its own ranks.

        Lt. Lisa Rudzinski said the force wants to fill a new class of 40 cadets with veteran police officers who can be on the road in half the time of an ordinary group of new troopers.

        Rudzinski said there were 929 sworn state police officers Thursday, while the agency is authorized 1,020 under current budget rules. Dozens of veteran officers have retired, and another 200 or so are eligible to do so.

        “All the baby boomers are ready to retire,” Lt. Rudzinski said.

        Versailles Police Chief Allen Love said the state police recruitment is an acknowledgment of the improved training and quality of officers in small local departments.

        Chief Love, who is also president of the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, said there has long been competition among agencies to find good recruits.

        Chief Love said opinions vary among his colleagues about the recruitment by the state police force.

        “If you talked to 100 different chiefs, you'll probably get 100 different opinions,” Chief Love said. “You've got some chiefs, they really don't like it.”

        Others, Chief Love said, just acknowledge it as a simple sign of the competition for good employees in any line of work.

        Other reasons for transfers and departures vary widely. In small departments, for example, advancement opportunities might be limited. Chief Love said he lost an officer to the Fayette County schools who wanted to avoid shift work.

        State police troopers have a starting salary of $28,595 after training is completed.

        Lt. Rudzinski said the force tried to avoid offending any local police departments by luring away their officers. They wrote numerous letters to the departments and made numerous contacts.

        “We don't anticipate it straining our relations with those local agencies. We've been up front with them,” Lt. Rudzinski said.

        Lt. Rudzinski said the ordinary 22-week training program for state police cadets can be slashed because of the experience of the officers in the new class. Just to get into the program, officers will have to pass a written test on things such as traffic laws, the criminal code and drunken driving testing and arrest procedures.

        The 11-week training program for the veteran officers will include more specialized instruction in state police procedures.

        While the concentration in the new class is unusual, the state police often attract veterans. Lt. Rudzinski said about a third of the class of 51 cadets scheduled to graduate next week are former police officers.

        Seminars for interested officers will be held at state police headquarters in Frankfort this weekend. Applications must be turned in by Aug. 14 and can be obtained at any state police post or at the Kentucky State Police Web site.

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