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Lackawanna College’s Police Academy hosted Governor Josh Shapiro to discuss his public safety budget proposal and plan to recruit more police officers in Pennsylvania.

“This is the place I wanted to come to speak specifically about some of our workforce challenges, especially when it comes to recruiting municipal police officers and state troopers over the last number of years,” Gov. Shapiro said.

Gov. Shapiro met with Lackawanna College Police Academy cadets and spoke on the importance of their future as police officers. Pennsylvania currently faces a shortage of nearly 1,200 police officers and Gov. Shapiro’s new budget proposal plans to bring in more frontline workers. Under the proposal, new police officers certified in Pennsylvania, as well as new nurses and teachers, would get a tax credit of up to $2,500 a year for the next three years.

“It’s really important to me that we show folks how much we value law enforcement as well as we make sure we grow our ranks,” Gov. Shapiro said. “We have to attract the best of the best into what I believe is a noble profession, serving in law enforcement.”

Following his discussion with the cadets, Gov. Shapiro held a press conference in the Lackawanna College Police Academy classroom joined by President and Chief Innovation Officer of Lackawanna College Jill Murray Ph.D., Scranton Police Chief Thomas Carroll, Lackawanna County Commissioner Jerry Notarianni, Senator Marty Flynn, Representative Matt Cartwright and two cadets from the police academy. Dr. Murray opened the press conference promoting the success of the police academy at Lackawanna College.

“We are very proud at Lackawanna College of our Police Academy Act 120 Program both in Scranton and in Hazleton, including the thousands of graduates we have trained in over four decades of operation who continue to protect our families, cities and neighborhoods,” Dr. Murray said. “We are honored Governor Shapiro has chosen to make our police academy as the face of this initiative, designed to help address the growing difficulty in filling positions in law enforcement and public safety.”

Lindsey Dippre, Captain of the Lackawanna College Police Academy Class 260 and sponsored cadet of the Scranton Police Department, spoke for her class on supporting the budget proposal.

“On behalf of myself and the rest of my class we would like to thank the governor for his new tax proposal for newly hired police officers,” Dippre said. “We believe it will be a great incentive to provide Pennsylvania with additional police officers.”

Lackawanna College’s Police Academy Professional Certification Program trains cadets to enter law enforcement while teaching them values that reflect the college’s approach to education. Lackawanna offers a unique opportunity to obtain certification from its police academy along with an associate degree in Criminal Justice. Graduates of the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Basic Training Program, commonly referred to as the ACT 120 program, use their training modules as course equivalencies for a number of degree requirements. Lackawanna College is the only private college in northeastern Pennsylvania that provides this combined education.

“Let’s work together to try and make sure Pennsylvania is a safe place to raise a family and to work,” Gov. Shapiro said. “I am grateful for the duty these cadets are willing to take while going through this training. On behalf of 13 million Pennsylvanians and legislative leaders we thank you for your service and commitment to our communities.”

Candidates interested in enrolling in Lackawanna’s Police Academy certification program, or the Academy-Criminal Justice associate degree program, can learn more online at lackawanna.edu.