KENT, Ohio — Kent State University announced this week that it'll be expanding its Basic Peace Officer Training Academy to Twinsburg this fall in an attempt to address the police officer shortage. 

What You Need To Know

  • The program offers cadets with basic peace officer training, defensive driving techniques and other unique methods that would be used as a police or corrections officer

  • Kent State cited a recent report from the Police Executive Research Forum, which shows officer staffing levels went down by nearly 3.5% from 2020 to 2021, and resignations went up by more than 42% from 2019

  • The application deadline for the fall semester is July 1, and the final physical test is July 11

The program, which has been designated a STAR Academy by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, offers cadets with basic peace officer training, defensive driving techniques and other unique methods that would be used as a police or corrections officer. 

“This is a great time to expand our training opportunities in Northeast Ohio,” said Jim Willock, director of the Kent State Police Academy, in a press release. “Because of the dire need, departments are doing whatever they can to fill positions. The career opportunities, pay and incentives offered to cadets today were unheard of when I started in the 1990s.”

Kent State cited a recent report from the Police Executive Research Forum, which shows officer staffing levels went down by nearly 3.5% from 2020 to 2021, and resignations went up by more than 42% from 2019.

“We need good officers,” Willock said in a press release. “We hope that with a second location, we can double our efforts to help departments fill these positions.”

The application deadline for the fall semester is July 1, and the final physical test is July 11. Classes begin Aug. 19 at the Trumbull Campus in Warren and the Twinsburg location, which is at 1612 Enterprise Parkway. 

More details can be found here.

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