Kentucky State Police Expands Guaranteed Post Assignments for Cadet Class 107
Louisville and Lexington area troopers guaranteed close-to-home assignments
FRANKFORT, Ky. (November 3, 2025) – Today, the Kentucky State Police (KSP) announced the expansion of guaranteed post assignments for troopers who graduate from Cadet Class 107, which is scheduled to begin in May 2026. The expansion includes Post 4 in Elizabethtown and Post 12 in Frankfort, which serve the Louisville and Lexington metropolitan areas, respectively.
The announcement comes as KSP continues to accept applications for Cadet Class 107, offering an annual starting salary of $69,500 and a comprehensive benefits package, including hybrid retirement and sick leave buyback options.
“The Kentucky State Police serves all 120 of our counties and touches every corner of our commonwealth,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “Troopers who know the communities they serve are essential to building a safer New Kentucky Home, and we encourage any interested individuals to apply.”
Cadets without a prior background in law enforcement will undergo an intensive 24-week training regimen with over 1,000 hours of classroom and practical field study. Cadets will be trained in various critical topics, including constitutional law, juvenile and traffic laws, crisis response, criminal investigations, and community relations. Specific training areas also cover weapons use, first aid, high-speed pursuits, crowd control, hazardous material handling, and implicit bias education.
Those with previous law enforcement experience are encouraged to apply for KSP’s Law Enforcement Accelerated Program (LEAP), which enables seasoned officers to join the agency through an accelerated 14-course program.
Candidates selected for the final hiring from Posts 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 12 and 16 will receive guaranteed assignments at their home post location. All other applicants will be assigned to their home or bordering post based on available positions and agency need. To see a list of post locations, click here.
“The addition of Post 4 Elizabethtown and Post 12 Frankfort to our guaranteed post assignment program is a major step forward in serving two of Kentucky’s most populated and fastest-growing regions,” said KSP Recruitment Commander Lt. Charles Hedgespeth. “We’re calling on the men and women of Central Kentucky to take action now, join our ranks, wear our uniform, and make a lasting difference in the communities you call home.”
The deadline to submit Cadet Class 107 and the LEAP program applications is December 2025. Those interested in applying can visit www.joinKSP.com to learn the minimum requirements, disqualifications and a list of required supporting documentation (physical standards requirements and testing information). For questions or assistance with applying, email the KSP recruitment branch at KSPRecruit@ky.gov.
On August 10, KSP welcomed 64 cadets to the training academy to begin their journey to becoming state troopers dedicated to serving and protecting all Kentuckians.
The Beshear-Coleman administration’s top priority is the safety of all Kentuckians. The Governor’s public safety actions are creating safer communities and a better Kentucky.
The 2024 Crime in Kentucky report, released in June, shows that, from 2023 to 2024, there was an overall decrease of 7.66% in reports of serious crime.
Last month, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman joined KSP to break ground on a new, state-of-the-art Drivers’ Skills Pad at the agency’s training academy in Frankfort. The $2.7 million project will provide troopers, officers and cadets with a facility dedicated to safely practice and refine advanced driving techniques.
In April, Gov. Beshear was joined by members of the Cash family, the Kentucky law enforcement community and the Department of Criminal Justice Training to officially open the doors to the new law enforcement training facility named in honor of Jody Cash, who lost his life in the line of duty. The facility is a 42,794-square-foot facility with a 50-yard, 30-lane firing range designed for officers to learn intensive and specialized training that will support training all of Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies.
At the beginning of his second term, the Governor proposed a $500 increase to the law enforcement annual training stipend, but the General Assembly chose to provide a combined $262 increase over the next two years. The budget signed by the Governor raises the training stipend to an all-time high of $4,562 by fiscal year 2026. Additionally, the Governor is providing part-time law enforcement officers with an annual training stipend for the first time in the history of the commonwealth.
As the Governor recommended in January 2022, $12.2 million was included in the state budget for KSP to purchase body cameras, which is the first time in the commonwealth’s history that funding has been allocated for this much-needed expense.
For more information about KSP’s commitment to creating a better Kentucky by making the commonwealth’s streets safer, communities stronger and the nation more secure by providing exceptional law enforcement, click here.
KSP’s mission is to provide public safety, maintain critical services and safeguard the communities that KSP serves. For more information about KSP’s commitment to creating a better Kentucky, click here.
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