LINCOLN- After around four hours of testimony in the Judiciary Committee senators were informed that police can be hired in small communities across the state with no training for a year. Officers are able to work without any certifications or without any training from the Law Enforcement Training Center. The discussions were mostly centered on law enforcement testimony. Chairman of the committee, Sen. Steve Lathrop was especially taken aback by this revelation.

Training at the academy is only offered every three or four months and is a very expensive process. Smaller jurisdictions also have a hard time recruiting, matching wages and paid time off. Sen. Tom Brandt says smaller communities are the training ground for the rest of the state and many times the officers move to the higher-paying jobs in bigger cities such as Omaha or Lincoln.

Chief of the Lincoln Police Department Jeff Bliemeister said fixing these issues will be costly but should be a top priority.

Read the full article HERE