LITTLE ROCK — Veterans who want to be police officers should have the option of paying for their own training so they can be more easily employable, the director of the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training said Thursday.
City or county law-enforcement agencies generally pay for training recruits at the state’s law-enforcement training academy in East Camden or Springdale. Currently, only people already employed in law enforcement can attend the training academy, but some veterans are struggling to find jobs without the training, Director Ken Jones told the House and Senate Committees on Public Health, Welfare and Labor.
“This actually started with a veteran saying, ‘Hey, can I get the training so I can maybe get a job in law enforcement in Arkansas?’” Jones said. “The door had been kind of shut on him.”
The committee gave initial approval to change the rules governing the commission to allow veterans to pay their way.
Jones said the commission has not yet determined what it will cost veterans to go through the training.
“We have not put a pencil to it yet,” Jones said. “We’re hoping that the GI Bill will help pay for the training.”
He estimated that the 12-week training would cost between $3,000 and $4,000. That amount includes room and board, he said.
“We’re not going to let cost stand in our way of making this program work,” he said. “But under the law it cannot be provided for free to a veteran.”
The GI Bill authorizes the federal government to reimburse veterans for costs associated with job training, school and apprenticeships, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.
Sen. Percy Malone told him to figure out the number before seeking the next stage of approval.
“The Rules Committee rarely passes a rule that allows somebody later on to come up with a number,” said Malone, D-Arkadelphia. “So it would behoove you to have a number.”
If approved, the rule would go into effect Aug. 12.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 07/23/2012