Bipartisan bill proposed to offer 4-year degree to police officers

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A new effort is underway to help recruit police officers across New York State while preparing them for a successful future.

Recruiting in Erie County has been a difficult task.

A bipartisan bill has been announced to provide a four-year degree for police officers.

The Educational and Career Opportunities for Public Safety (EdCOPS) Act would allow a public safety officer who has served for eight years and commits to serving four more years for the same employer to be eligible for financial aid to attend college or university.

An eligible agent may also transfer unused education benefits to his or her dependent.

This comes as recruitment figures are at an all-time low.

The Erie County Department of Personnel recently announced an unprecedented drop in applications for the upcoming police civil service exam, which will be held on September 28. The last day to register is August 14.

The ministry reports that 367 candidates registered this year, compared to 987 candidates in 2022, 1,515 in 2019 and 1,797 in 2016.

I spoke with two local police departments about how this bipartisan bill could hopefully provide an additional boost to recruiting requests.

“There’s been a decline in interest in the profession for a variety of reasons, but I’ve never seen recruiting as difficult as it is right now,” said East Aurora Police Department Chief Patrick Welch.

The small pool of candidates has been felt within the East Aurora Police Department, which currently has 18 officers.

It’s quite the opposite for the Buffalo Police Department.

This is what Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said last Friday, during the swearing-in of police recruits:

“We are almost at full capacity. Our budget is 812 agents,” explained the commissioner.

The bipartisan bill aims to boost recruiting at all levels.

Chief Welch sees this as a path for a young officer.

“If you take it back a little bit, maybe three or four years of work, you’re now qualified. You have a young officer who aspires to be an investigator, to go into forensics, to do crime scene investigation, to work on evidence or maybe to be a leader,” said Chief Welch. “The bill has just been released. There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be explored. I think it’s too early to speculate on what impact it might have.”

Commissioner Gramaglia shared the same sentiment regarding the change in the qualifying period.

“Too long in service. I think at that point it becomes even more difficult to go back to school. You end up having a family and other responsibilities. I think the best time to take advantage of it is for a young officer who may not have enough family responsibilities to allow them to go back to school,” he explained.