The process of becoming a police officer includes both classroom study and in-the-field training at a 20-week formal state police academy, followed by on-the-job training under the tutelage of a Covington field training officer. Officers with specialized roles, such as K9 officers, require even more (ongoing) training. Photo taken by Covington Police Sgt. Jason Gray.
Already boasting 31 veterans, Covington Police say ‘natural fit’ program will save money
COVINGTON, Ky. – When Josh Bornhorn left the U.S. Army after eight years of service, he was looking for the right “fit” in civilian life.
Stationed in Germany during the attacks of 9/11, Bornhorn had deployed to Iraq in 2003 and served 18 months. He secured checkpoints, ran security checks, and came to consider the men and women he served alongside as family.
Beyond the battlefield, he hoped he might find similar work and equally strong bonds.
Today, now a lieutenant with the Covington Police Department, Bornhorn found both.
“You come out of service, and you think you’ll never get that again, but as a police officer you work a beat with a guy, you’re in close quarters, and you feel that similar bond,” Bornhorn said.
Hoping to replicate that successful transition from military to public safety, Covington Police are moving to implement a new recruitment program available through the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council (KLEC) that will directly connect the department with active service members looking to transition into police work.
KLEC’s program, called Military to Law Enforcement, or M-2-LE, would enroll Covington in the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) SkillBridge program.
Covington Police Chief Rob Nader said the program will help recruitment and save money doing so.
“It’s brand new and it’s a great tool to attract qualified applicants,” Chief Nader said. “Not only does it get us in front of strong applicants, but there’s a substantial savings in what the City generally pays for officer training. I’m excited about this new opportunity.”
Earlier this month, the Covington Board of Commissioners approved a formal agreement with the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT), and KLEC to be considered for the program. The DOD SkillBridge Program generally approves all applications within a couple of months of receipt.
Other partners include the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs and the Kentucky Commission on Military Affairs.
Bornhorn isn’t the only military service veteran to find a good fit with law enforcement.
An analysis of U.S. Census data by Gregory B. Lewis and Rahul Pathak of Georgia State University for The Marshall Project found that, as of 2017, while 6 percent of the population had served in the military,19 percent of police officers were veterans.
“They’re used to the style of hierarchy and command structure – used to that quasi-military style that you see in law enforcement,” Covington Police Capt. Matthew Winship said. “It’s something that’s familiar to them.”
At last count, Covington has 31 military veterans on its police force.
“We’re proud of that, as well as the many veterans who worked with our agency in the past,” Nader said.
Covington Police officials said program will come none too soon.
“It’s a hard time to recruit,” Winship said. “All of law enforcement is hurting, this isn’t a problem that’s unique to Covington. … But this program opens up a recruitment pipeline that goes all across the country and casts a larger net in terms of making us more visible.”
- Participating local law enforcement agencies like Covington can post openings on the DOD’s SkillBridge website.
- Current military members of any rank who are leaving the military and are interested in a law enforcement career can set up interviews with those local agencies.
- If there’s a “match” – i.e. a successful interview – the local agency (such as Covington) agrees to “sponsor” the active-duty service member for a 180-day internship closing out their military service. During that internship, they are assigned to and attend the 20-week law enforcement academy. Upon graduation, they’re hired by that local agency as a certified Kentucky Peace Officer.
- (Note that in Covington, as is standard for any hire, graduates then complete 20 additional weeks of in-house training to acclimate them to internal procedures and operations and to the city at large.)
Once enrolled in a law enforcement academy, the service member’s salary and benefits are paid by their branch of service through the DOD instead of by the local law enforcement agency. That’s a big savings for Covington’s Police Department.
“Ordinarily, an officer hired by the City hits payroll on day one, then goes to the academy,” Capt. Winship said. “Through this program, the active-duty service member is paid during that time by their branch of service.”
Factoring in only salary – no benefits – that saves the City about $18,000 per trained officer, Winship said.
“I can’t find a negative,” he said. “It’s helping active military service members transition into the civilian sector seamlessly.”
And that transition can become a lasting and rewarding career.
“For me, and others who’ve served, you come back with certain scars. I think police officers have scars too,” Bornhorn said. “And when you have a shared community, it works better in the long run.”
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