LYNCHBURG, Va. – Training the next generation of Virginia State Police officers — that’s what state and local officials hope a new program at Liberty University will accomplish.
The Helms School of Government at Liberty University is now home to a new program creating a direct career pathway for criminal justice students to join the Virginia State Police.
Governor Glenn Youngkin was in attendance and said he hopes the new program will help fill vacant positions.
“What this reflects is not just a great partnership but an innovation that is going to lead to more troopers on the street, an innovation [that] is going [to] lead to more opportunities for Liberty students and to do it in a much more efficient way,” Youngkin said. “It just seemed to be a good fit that a Liberty student could apply those credits that we’re going to get anyhow at our training academy to their degree, and we could graduate them from Liberty and us at the same time — and what a fantastic partnership.”
Undergraduate students in their final semester will have the opportunity to attend the Virginia State Police Basic Trooper Academy, allowing them to simultaneously receive their law enforcement certifications.