KLEFPF Increase Coincides with Fund Anniversary
With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Andy Beshear’s signature on the 2022-24 Kentucky budget bill put more money in the pockets of those serving and protecting the commonwealth.
The budget, approved by the Kentucky Legislature and signed into law by the governor, increased the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund (KLEFPF) officer stipend by $300—raising the annual training incentive from $4,000 to $4,300.
“This increase represents the commonwealth’s commitment to its law enforcement officers and gives them an even greater incentive for maintaining the 40 hours of training each year that helps set them apart as some of the very best peace officers in the country,” said Gov. Beshear.
Beshear advocated for training stipend increases in the previous two state budget proposals, including a $600 increase request in the 2022 budget.
The passage of this year’s increase also happens to coincide with KLEFPF’s 50th anniversary.
“For 50 years, KLEFPF has served as the bedrock of Kentucky law enforcement training and has financially supported officers who pursue professionalism through annual training,” said Department of Criminal Justice Training Commissioner Nicolai Jilek. “Kentucky law enforcement salaries have historically been low. The KLEFPF stipend not only ensures officers serving the commonwealth can receive the training they deserve but it also helps compensate them for achieving Kentucky’s high standards. We are grateful that Gov. Beshear and the legislature saw fit to increase the stipend in this budget.”
KLEFPF History
Established in 1972, the innovative KLEFPF was designed to incentivize officers to complete a 400-hour, 10-week basic training course within one year of the officer’s date of employment and 40 hours of in-service at a recognized, certified school each year. (Today, DOCJT Basic Training’s 20-week academy is an 800-hour course.) At the time, the stipend was approximately 15% of an officer’s salary, according to a DOCJT historical document.
Monies for the program are provided via 1.8% surcharge on casualty insurance that is then divided between law enforcement and fire services.
The current rate was established in 2010, having previously been 1.5%, according to a past Kentucky Law Enforcement (KLE) magazine article. No funds for DOCJT training or officers’ stipends come from Kentucky’s general fund.
Jennifer Duerson, KLEFPF Administration Section Supervisor, said that, prior to this year, the KLEFPF stipend has only been increased three times. First in 1998 to a $3,000 annual allotment when the Peace Officer Professional Standards Act was established. Increases were also made to $3,100 in 2001 and to $4,000 in 2016.
The fund supports approximately 7,623 officers annually, according to the KLEFPF office, at the time of publishing.
A Defining Moment
In addition to the KLEFPF stipend being increased, the 2022 passage of House Bill 137 expanded the definition of police to include joint task force members, county attorney investigators, process servers for juvenile courts and commonwealth attorney’s investigators. By including these positions within the definition of police officer, their employing agencies are now able to participate in KLEFPF, said a release from the governor’s office.
This is not the first time additional jobs and agencies have been added to KLEFPF. In 1972, the stipend was only awarded to municipal officers. In 1998, sheriffs’ offices, university police and airport police were added, followed by Kentucky State Police in 2005, the KLE magazine article explains.
Kentucky law enforcement meet some of the highest standards nationally and receive more training annually than most of the country. Officers excel because they are uniformly trained to standardized measures and are compensated for their proficiency.
Clark County Sheriff and Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police President Burl Perdue also cited KLEFPF as a very good tool in the law enforcement toolbox, specifically regarding recruitment, retention and training.
“The better officers you have, the better the safety for our communities,” said Perdue. “In my opinion, we have the best basic and in-service training in the nation. We are very fortunate in Kentucky, KLEFPF being tied to that training is a big part of that professionalism.”
