Kansas Legislators Visit KLETC
On Wednesday, September 25th, a group of Kansas legislators arrived by bus to tour the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) near Hutchinson, Kansas. This was the final stop on their tour, which also included visits to the Kansas State Fairgrounds and the Hutchinson Correctional Facility in Reno County.
“You never have as much time as you’d like to get familiar with a place, but I appreciated what we saw,” said Marci Francisco, Senator for the 2nd District of Kansas and a member of the Joint Committee on State Building Construction. “I think there was a good overview of the facility’s map and presentation,” she added regarding KLETC.
The legislators are all part of one of three committees: Senate Ways and Means, House Appropriations, and the Joint Committee on State Building Construction.
Established by the Kansas legislature in 1968 and a unit of the University of Kansas, KLETC serves as the central law enforcement training facility for the state of Kansas and as headquarters for all law enforcement training in the state.
“We appreciate the legislature’s support of Kansas law enforcement and law enforcement training,” said Darin Beck, Vice Provost and Director of Police Training. Beck, along with KLETC staff, led the tour and explained to legislators what the center needs to ensure KLETC continues to grow as a leader in law enforcement training in Kansas.
“The KLETC campus used to be a Naval Air Base in the 1950s, and we still have some of those buildings in use today,” Beck added.
“Although the state has made some investments, we haven’t kept up with maintaining the older facilities on campus,” said Senator Francisco.
KLETC is looking to expand through its Campus Master Plan, to include facilities to support its competency-based curriculum and to expand programs to meet the training needs of partners in public safety.
The Kansas legislature has approved funding for the first phase of the master plan, which will begin in spring 2025. This initial phase will include the construction of additional dormitory and classroom space.
