A bipartisan group of Minnesota lawmakers recently introduced the “Law Enforcement Scholarship Act” in hopes of recruiting and retaining new law enforcement officers amid a statewide shortage of police officers.
Minnesota state legislators recently hosted a press conference to introduce the bipartisan bill that would start a public scholarship program for law enforcement officers and their dependents.
HF 2454 would create a scholarship program that would provide funding for a semester’s tuition for law enforcement officers and their families to pursue a degree in law enforcement, criminal justice, or related field among any of Minnesota’s public colleges and universities. The scholarship can be renewed if the student continues to meet the conditions of eligibility.
The bill has been drafted and introduced amid a crisis-level shortage of law enforcement across the state of Minnesota.
Rep. Dan Wolgamott, DFL-St. Cloud, one of the authors of the bill, said during the press conference that there are currently more than 1,000 open positions in law enforcement across Minnesota and another 2,700 officers who are nearing retirement.
Mark Ross, president of the St. Paul Police Federation, stressed the crisis law enforcement is facing and how the bill could provide a solution during the press conference.
“For the last four years, we have had robust discussions about how we were going to address this crisis. We know it’s coming, we’re in the midst of it, and we’re doing everything we can to avoid this,” he said. “This program is going to go a long ways for recruitment and retention of police officers.”
He said the program will be used by officers who have a two-year degree and want to obtain a four-year degree. It would also apply to dependents of those who have been permanently disabled in the line of duty.
The day after the press conference, another law enforcement officer, Sheriff Scott Rose of Dodge County, posted his thoughts about the state’s law enforcement staff shortage and what has been fueling it on Facebook.
“Unfortunately, many of our legislators are a day late and a dollar short. They aren’t recognizing or admitting the real problem. Trust. Nobody wants to be a cop in Minnesota because they don’t trust our leadership at the capitol, and they don’t trust our Attorney General’s Office,” wrote Sheriff Rose. “The state has beaten up our cops for years and made their already stressful job much more stressful – causing some cops to be afraid to simply do their job. It takes years to build trust but just a few actions to destroy it. All the money in the world isn’t going to fix this lack of trust.”
“I hope and pray that this bill is approved and helps our state rebuild our numbers. Some of these agencies like MPD need all the help they can get to recover numbers to keep their communities and cops safe,” he wrote before finishing his post by thanking the people of Dodge County.
At the press conference, co-author Sen. Zack Duckworth, R-Lakeville, was questioned about the bipartisan nature of the bill and he expressed thoughts surrounding the recent politicization of law enforcement.
“At the end of the day, here’s what we all know, for better or for worse. It is what it is. There was a period of time in which discussions surrounding the profession of being in law enforcement became highly political and highly politicized,” said Duckworth. “This is a bipartisan effort by both Republicans and Democrats to say we’ve had enough of that. It doesn’t do anybody any good. It’s to the detriment of public safety in the state of Minnesota to have heightened polarization regarding public safety and police officers. Let’s put this aside and let’s build back up this profession.”
Other bill sponsors include Sen. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton, and Reps. Bernie Perryman, R-St. Cloud, John Huot, DFL-Rosemount, Matt Norris, DFL-Blaine, and Jeff Witte, R-Lakeville.
The bill had its first hearing in the House Higher Education Committee Tuesday and was laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.
Sarah Prentice
Sarah Prentice has previously written for Campus Reform and worked as an intern at Media Research Center. While continuing to pursue her degree in political science, she worked full-time in communications and media outreach for a pro-woman, pro-life non-profit. Now a fellow at Alpha News during her senior year of college, she hopes to graduate with her political science degree from SUNY Brockport and combine it with her media and communications experience to pursue political journalism. She has a special interest in reporting on stories related to social issues, education, public health, and religious freedom.
