Gov. Andy Beshear's proposed budget request for the Kentucky State Police next year will include $12.2 million for the agency's troopers to be equipped with body cameras for the first time.

The governor's budget request also proposes a $15,000 raise for state troopers and an $8,000 raise for dispatch telecommunicators, part of an effort to recruit new hires and retain current personnel, who are increasingly leaving for other law enforcement agencies that pay more.

At a press conference Tuesday with KSP and Justice Cabinet leadership, Beshear said the "historic investments" of his budget proposal would amount to the single largest pay increase ever for state troopers, the Courier Journal reports.

"Both KSP troopers and dispatchers deserve the respect and the stability that comes from competitive wages, and none of them should have to have a second job with what they do for us to provide for their family," Beshear said. "I hope that this is a commitment that is seen and understood by the state to do our