Gov. Beshear, Department of Criminal Justice Training Announce 22 Officers Graduate From Kentucky Crime Scene Technician Course

On October 16, Gov. Andy Beshear and the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) announced that 22 crime scene investigators (CSIs) from across the commonwealth have graduated from the 2026 Kentucky Criminalistics Academy (KCA) Crime Scene Technician Course Class 11.

“Each of today’s graduates has put in significant time and energy to become the best officer they can be,” Gov. Beshear said. “Thank you for your sacrifice and dedication to creating a safer Kentucky and delivering justice for families across our commonwealth.”

KCA is made up of two five-week, 200-hour courses for full-time and newly appointed CSIs and for patrol officers who serve as CSIs for their agencies. In addition to sworn officers, KCA is also open to civilian CSIs who work for law enforcement agencies.

“Your skills as law enforcement officers have been enhanced by completing this academy,” said DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse. “It reflects your dedication to the field. I wish you all the best as you continue your careers.”

KCA certification includes training in:

  • Digital photography;

  • Advanced latent print development;

  • Evidence collection and documentation;

  • Latent fingerprint recognition and identification;

  • Shooting scene reconstruction;

  • Bloodstain pattern recognition and documentation;

  • Post-blast investigation;

  • Forensic mapping; and

  • Computer crimes investigations.

Graduates of the KCA also complete the Forensic Anthropological Recovery Course at the University of Tennessee, where they refine their study and work with human remains.

The KCA Class No. 11 graduates and their agencies are:

 Jeffery Bessinger, Scottsville Police Department

 Christopher Boone, Hillview Police Department

 Chase Bowman, Nicholasville Police Department

 Emma Burbrink, Louisville Metro Police Department

 Christopher Damron, Department of Criminal Justice Training

 Scott Evely, Lexington Police Department

 Evan Guifoyle, Erlanger Police Department

 Dalton Hayes, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office

 James Hobson, Pikeville Police Department

 Brad Holloman, Kentucky State Police Academy

 Ryan Kilmer, Florence Police Department

 Tai Nguyen, Lexington Police Department

 Robert Oney, Danville Police Department

 Matthew Parmley, Kentucky State Police Academy

 Matthew Poore, Bowling Green Police Department

 Robert Reed, Laurel County Sheriff’s Office

 Jason Vance, Hardin County Sheriff's Office

 Zachary Vance, Fort Thomas Police Department

 Cheryl Vice, Louisville Metro Police Department

 Jordan Walters, Somerset Police Department

 Benjamin Williams, Bowling Green Police Department

 Trista Winebarger, Murray Police Department

DOCJT provides basic training for city and county police officers, sheriffs’ deputies, university police and airport police throughout the state, only excluding the Louisville Metro Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Bowling Green Police Department, Owensboro Police Department and Kentucky State Police, each of which has its own independent academy.

The Beshear-Coleman administration’s top priority is the safety of all Kentuckians. The Governor’s public safety actions are creating safer communities and a better Kentucky. 

In April, DOCJT broke ground on the Department of Criminal Justice Training West: Gaines-Brown Campus in Madisonville, which, when completed, will house two buildings – a 42,800-square-foot classroom and administration building providing learning space, offices and recruit showers and changing areas, as well as a 30,625-square-foot high bay building, which will house an open training area, additional classroom space and gym equipment. The 2026-2028 state budget also allocates $13.1 million to construct a driving track at the new facility. The General Assembly did not include the full $64.8 million requested by the Governor in his executive budget proposal to construct both a driving track and an indoor firing range at the Madisonville facility.

Until completion of the Gaines-Brown campus, Team Kentucky is offering basic training in facilities provided by the Madisonville Police Department. As of August, 60 officers have graduated from the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility.

The Governor continues to support law and champion law enforcement. The recently passed 2026-2028 state budget also includes funds to raise the annual law enforcement training stipend to $4,746 for full-time officers by 2028 – another all-time high.

Protecting the commonwealth’s schools are a top priority of Team Kentucky. In August, the Governor announced that 937 school resource officers are protecting Kentucky’s public schools, nearly 100 more since the beginning of the previous school year. The Governor also shared that nearly all of Kentucky’s public schools are following statutory safety requirements required by the School Safety and Resiliency Act.

Since Gov. Beshear took office, fewer Kentuckians have returned to prison after their release. For two years in a row, recidivism rates in the commonwealth have decreased, meaning that nearly 70% of those released from state custody have not returned.

The 2025 Crime in Kentucky report released in June, shows that, from 2024 to 2025, there was an overall decrease of 8.14% in reports of serious crime.

For four straight years, overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky. In 2025, the commonwealth saw 22.9% fewer overdose deaths than the year prior.

In April 2025, Gov. Beshear officially opened the doors to the new law enforcement training facility named in honor of Jody Cash, who lost his life in the line of duty. The facility is designed for officers to learn intensive and specialized training that will support all of Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies.

Since taking office, Gov. Beshear has awarded more than $13 million in grant funding to assist state and local law enforcement agencies with enhancing public and officer safety, curbing the sale of illegal drugs and fighting addiction.   

In June 2022, Gov. Beshear announced the Military to Law Enforcement Program (M-2-LE), which allows local law enforcement agencies in Kentucky to hire active service members within all U.S. military branches during their last 180 days of service. Upon being contracted by a law enforcement agency, the military member will continue to receive their pay and benefits from their branch of the armed forces while they undergo law enforcement training at DOCJT.

For more about the Beshear-Coleman administration’s work to build a safer New Kentucky Home, click here.

GRADUATIONMichael MooreKCA, Kentucky Criminalistics Academy