The number of police officers on the beat across Michigan has taken a hit and so has funding for continued training after they graduate from the academy, reports the Detroit News.
Fewer police means fewer tickets, and that's cutting into the budget for the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, which issues grants for continuing education for cops, prosecutors and defense lawyers.
The commission recently sent out an advisory that it will not accept competitive grant applications for 2016. The grants have traditionally reflected 40 percent of funds provided overall for officer training. Departments won't lose, though, commission funding for training based on their number of officers — about $180 each.
The bottom line: Criminal justice will suffer unless other sources can be found for training funds, according to experts such as Auburn Hills Police Chief Doreen Olko, a Law Enforcement Standards commissioner and its former chairperson for the past eight years.
