LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky State Police said its latest cadet class in Frankfort is the largest starting class since 2014. 

There are 103 cadets taking part in Cadet Class 103. There wasn't a plan for the numbers to align as they did, but KSP is pleased to see more than 100 people in this most recent class.

"It is ironic. It wasn't intended but that's just the way it worked out, so it's pretty neat," said Sgt. Matt Sudduth with KSP's Public Affairs Branch in Frankfort.

Sudduth points to increased recruiting efforts and a salary increase to attracting more recruits. 

According to KSP, the agency now employs 899 troopers, which is up about 22% from Nov. 2021. 

Pay for all Kentucky State Police troopers went up by $15,000 a year in 2022, which puts starting pay for newly sworn officers starting around $62,000 a year.

"I think the pay certainly helps, yes, absolutely," said Sudduth. "But our recruitment branch has been working very hard at trying to help us get good, qualified candidates and increase our number of troopers."

He said recruiters are forming a partnership with NASCAR, setting up booths at the KHSAA boys' and girls' basketball state tournaments, and looking at visiting other states to recruit outside Kentucky.

Cadet classes include 24 weeks of basic training and more than 1,000 hours of classroom and field study. 

Cadet Class 103 is the first KSP class to train with the newly integrated video recording system, because they'll be equipped with body cameras as soon as they graduate. 

According to previous reporting, before Kentucky passed a new budget in July 2022, KSP was the 74th-lowest paid police agency in Kentucky. It is now one of the top-five law enforcement agencies for pay in Kentucky, according to KSP Commissioner Col. Phillip Burnett Jr.

In November 2021, Burnett said exit interviews at KSP determined that more than 70% of people who resigned from the agency in the past five years cited salary as a reason for leaving.

Gov. Andy Beshear has championed salary raises for state troopers in order to prevent troopers leaving for higher pay at other law enforcement agencies and to help fight against a trooper shortage.

Kentucky State Police is still working toward more diversity in its recruits. Of the 103 new recruits in this cadet class, 98 are men and 96 are white. Only seven of the recruits are people of color and five are women.

Of KSP's 103 new recruits, 98 were men and 96 were white.

"We're small steps but we're stepping in the right direction, we're trying to better the agency," Sudduth said. "We want to get good qualified candidates but we also want to do that by diversifying the agency. So we're looking forward to the future and where this going to take us."

Across the river in Indiana, ISP is accepting applications for its next recruit class. Applications are due in late April.

Sgt. Seth Rainey with ISP's Human Resources Division said ISP goes to high school and university career fairs to help recruit. He said ISP has three full-time recruiters and liaisons at each district. 

He said anyone interested in joining ISP can sign up for a ride-along with a trooper to learn more about the job. 

Also, salaries could be increasing. Rainey said Gov. Eric Holcomb has pushed for a raise for ISP troopers in his budget proposal. If approved, it would increase starting trooper pay from $53,690 to $70,000.

For information about Indiana State Police, click here.

For information about Kentucky State Police, click here.

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