Gov. Beshear, Department of Criminal Justice Training Announce 17 Graduates of Public Safety Dispatch Academy Class 171
On May 15, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that 17 dispatchers from across Kentucky graduated from the Department of Criminal Justice Training’s (DOCJT) Public Safety Dispatch Academy and are now ready to begin answering the call to aid both citizens and law enforcement officers of the commonwealth.
“You all are answering a noble call to be the lifeline to those who are experiencing some of the hardest moments of their lives,” Gov. Beshear said. “I am grateful to you for choosing a career of public service and I pray that each of you have safe, fulfilling careers.”
Dispatch basic training is mandatory for any sworn or civilian employee who will dispatch law enforcement officers by radio at a Criminal Justice Information Systems agency. Graduates of the academy have successfully completed a highly structured and comprehensive curriculum to satisfy mandated training requirements. Over four weeks, the graduates of Class 171 received 164 hours of academy instruction to satisfy these requirements. Major training areas included identifying the role and responsibilities of the dispatcher, correct phone and radio procedures, handling emergency and nonemergency calls for service, using emergency medical dispatch protocols, and using the state and national criminal databases.
“Choosing to become a member of a time-honored profession is admirable,” said DOCJT Commissioner Mike Bosse. “It carries with it a commitment of honor and professionalism. I thank you for your commitment and wish you the best of luck in your careers.”
Class 171 graduates and their agencies are:
Class 171 graduates and their agencies are:
Amy Bundy, Bath County 911
Linda Canales, Owensboro Police Department
Braxton Creekmore, Morehead Police Department
Brianna Davis, Shelby County 911 Communications
Izzabelle Davis, Frankfort Police Department
Zane Edwards, Livingston County Dispatch
Matthew Flowers, Springfield/Washington County E-911 Dispatch
Alexis Fowler, Warren County Sheriff’s Office
Emma Gregory, Pulaski County 911 Center
Christopher Hack, Grayson County 911
Jaclyn Howell, Georgetown Police Department
Martin Salazar, Montgomery County 911
Abigayl Sanborn, Warren County Sheriff’s Office
Aaron Schihl, Campbell County Dispatch
Morgan Todd, Bowling Green Police Department
Abbigale Virt, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
Harper Williams, Blue Grass Airport 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 an 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.
Last month, Team Kentucky broke ground on DOCJT’s new Madisonville campus. When completed, the $50 million project 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 recently passed 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 the completion of the Madisonville campus, the commonwealth is offering basic training in facilities provided by the Madisonville Police Department. As of January, 37 officers have graduated from the Western Kentucky Law Enforcement Training Facility.
The Governor continues to support 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 1,315 Kentucky public schools are following statutory safety requirements required by the School Safety and Resiliency Act and that the number of school resource officers protecting schools has increased more than 100% since he took office.
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 2024 Crime in Kentucky report, released in June 2025, shows that, from 2023 to 2024, there was an overall decrease of 7.66% 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.
