Budget cuts pose threat to police training in Michigan

LIVONIA, Mich. (AP) - Michigan’s law enforcement experts say criminal justice will suffer if the state cannot find funding for continued police training.

The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards recently announced that next year it won’t accept competitive grant applications, which typically account for 40 percent of funds provided for overall officer training.

Departments will still get training funds from the commission that are paid out according to the number of officers at around $180 each.

The Detroit News (https://bit.ly/1OqbA0p ) reports the commission’s budget has been cut into due to fewer officers, and in turn, fewer tickets issued and less money for training. David Harvey, the commission’s executive director, said budget cuts have caused the number of police officers in Michigan to decrease from 22,488 officers in 2001 to 18,522 officers.

A $5 surcharge on traffic tickets was added in 1982 as part of the Michigan Justice Training Fund. The majority of the raised revenue was to be distributed to Michigan police departments, with the rest going to competitive grants as well as training for prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Moves by Michigan governors have since cut into the amount of money available for programs. The training fund was combined with the commission in 2001, and administrative costs have come out of money collected under the last two gubernatorial administrations.

Auburn Hills Police Chief Doreen Olko said it would bad for communities if departments lose out on training officers. The state only requires continued training of qualifying on a firearms range for four hours, with other measures up to departments.

“Without properly training officers, you lose confidence in the communities,” Olko said.

Fred Stanton, coordinator of the Wayne County Regional Police Training Center, said failing to properly train an officer can complicate legal issues that head to court.

“If an officer has not been properly trained in how to handle a situation, it can come back to haunt them and their department and city,” Stanton said.

About $1.1 million was given out to grant applicants for training in 2014, down from $2.4 million in 2010.

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Information from: The Detroit News, https://detnews.com/