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Training a class of state police troopers may seem like a straightforward way to fill the ranks, but a lot of unknowns are part of the process this year.
The Pennsylvania state police have hundreds of vacancies to fill and not enough money to fill them. Officials are counting on a new class of cadets to lessen the force's projected shortage of up to 600 troopers by the end of the year.
Spokesman for the state police Sergeant Anthony Manetta said the agency usually expects a loss of about 20% of those 115 trainees.
"As much as we prepare them, sometimes it's not enough… either they get there and they get injured within a short period of time or that it's just not for them," Mandetta said.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett's budget plan contains $7.9 million to fund the class, and the state Senate's recent spending plan is identical. Though the budget will not be finalized until after the training starts, Manetta said the agency is still planning on getting the money and starting training a new cadet class this summer.
"The further back we push the class, the longer it takes us, and the more short we become on troopers," Mandetta said.
