YODER, KS — Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor congratulated 47 new law enforcement officers during their graduation from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center on Sept. 16.

The new officers, including Phillip Gage, Hays Police Department, and Christopher Krom,  Ellis Police Department, are members of the 214th basic training class at the center just southwest of Yoder.   The center is a division of University of Kansas Continuing Education.

Graduates receive certificates of course completion and Kansas law enforcement certification from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training.  Classroom lectures and hands-on applications help train officers to solve the increasingly complex problems they face in the line of duty.

Established by the Kansas Legislature in 1968, the center trains the majority of municipal, county and state law enforcement officers in Kansas and oversees the training of the remaining officers at seven authorized and certified academy programs operated by local law enforcement agencies and the Kansas Highway Patrol.

About 350 officers enroll annually in the 14-week basic training program.

Funding for the training center is generated from court docket fees from municipal and state courts. No funds from the state’s general revenue are used to operate the center.