CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The goal is to fill between 50 and 70 spots for what will be the 66th State Police Cadet Class, according to an agency official.
Initial steps toward that goal come during testing dates over the next week, beginning Saturday and continuing on Monday, Wednesday and next Friday, Jan. 26, at the State Police Academy in Kanawha County.
It’s the first State Police Cadet Class in several years, but Captain Reggie Patterson, State Police spokesperson, said not everyone meeting the high school diploma or GED requirements can apply at this time.
“You have to be a currently certified law enforcement officer, meaning police officer, to participate in this testing cycle,” Patterson said.
That’s because the 66th Cadet Class will be an accelerated class with training set to take place over ten weeks instead of 25 and shortened in-field training spans as well.
A similar accelerated trooper training effort in 2013 worked well, Patterson said.
Start times on all four testing dates — Jan. 20, 22, 24, 26 — are 9 a.m.
Patterson said all participants must arrive with a completed application for State Police trooper and a completed West Virginia State Trooper Supplemental Employment Application or one on file.
The first part of the testing is a physical fitness test.
“If you pass that, they you go on to a written test. If you pass that portion, then you take a suitability test all in the same day. Hopefully, we’ll get enough applicants,” Patterson said.
The Cadet Class was tentatively set to start training on Sept. 10.
“It’s going to be very interesting to see the kind of people that will come out,” Patterson said. “They’re already in the law enforcement profession and they’re just wanting to step over to our agency.”