Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training Re-opens Louisville Training Facility
DOCJT Special Assistant Anne Hogan, Commissioner Nicolai Jilek, Deputy Commissioner John Schwartz and Training Director Frank Kubala announce the re-opening of the Louisville training facility, which will serve more than 1,000 clients in the region. (Photo by Jim Robertson)
Today, Governor Andy Beshear and the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) announced the re-opening of a training facility on the University of Louisville’s Shelby Campus to better meet the training needs of Kentucky’s peace officers beginning in 2021.
“The Louisville field office will allow a reduction in costs associated with travel and accommodations related to the annual state-mandated 40-hours of law enforcement in-service training,” said Gov. Beshear. “Currently, basic and in-service training at DOCJT has been reduced due to COVID-19, but the re-opening of the Louisville training facility will serve us well once it is safe to increase in-person training. DOCJT is expected to annually train approximately 1,000 law enforcement officers whose agencies are within close proximity to Louisville.”
DOCJT offers training in more than 50 locations across the commonwealth, but the Louisville field office is the only designated training space, outside of DOCJT headquarters located in Richmond, that is staffed full-time with four instructors and a supervisor.
DOCJT Training Director Frank Kubala said the Louisville field office will serve the Jefferson County area and surrounding communities, including the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, which is one of DOCJT’s largest clients. “The courses to be offered at this facility will attract agencies from about a 100-mile radius,” said Kubala.
The previous Louisville training location closed in 2018 and has been reopened in response to client requests. While a variety of in-service courses will be available at the location for peace officers, the training space will also serve Certified Court Security Officers, telecommunicators and coroners.
“Our clients spoke and we listened,” said DOCJT Commissioner Nicolai Jilek. “Many agencies in the Louisville area utilized the former Shelby Campus training space because of the central location it provided in helping make the required annual in-service training easier to complete. This ensures DOCJT is not only providing the best possible law enforcement training, but doing so in facilities and locations that serve our clients well, which remains one of my top priorities.”
Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Mary Noble signed an executive order on July 9, 2020 waiving 32 of the 40 hours of law enforcement state-mandated in-service training for officers who had not yet met their 2020 requirement. DOCJT developed the 8-hour Ethical Policing in Contemporary Times course which covers; response to resistance, deadly force, moral decision making, civil rights law, community oriented policing, bias related crimes, and tactical responses to crisis situations. Completion of this course satisfies the mandatory in-service training requirements for 2020 only. DOCJT is also reviewing past and current training to ensure its appropriateness and professionalism.