Funding allocated in the state budget will cover the cost of four additional cadet classes for the Pennsylvania State Police.
But how many of those newly-trained troopers from the classes wind up in the Erie region remains to be seen.
About $16 million was earmarked in the budget to fund four new cadet classes, allowing the hiring of about 380 troopers beyond those already covered across multiple classes. Agency officials reported there are roughly 4,660 enlisted officer positions within an agency authorized to employ a little more than 4,800.
To date, Gov. Josh Shapiro has secured funding for 16 cadet classes to train over 1,600 new state police troopers, accoridng to state police.
Officials in the state agency try to spread new troopers around the state where they are needed, but there is never a guarantee a certain troop will get as many troopers as there are vacancies in the troop, said Capt. Dale Brown, commander of Erie County-based Troop E.
Troop E covers Erie, Crawford, Venango and Warren counties. The troop currently has 230 enlisted members, according to a state police spokesman.
Brown said the troop has been fortunate in his time since becoming commander in February 2025 in getting a number of new troopers from the various graduating cadet classes.
One of the more notable influxes occurred in May, when 19 of the 69 new troopers who graduated from the 175th Cadet Class were assigned to Troop E. But it turned out to be a wash, as Brown said 19 troopers who worked out of Troop E transferred out of the troop.
New troopers are required to spend two years at the troop they are assigned, Brown said. After that, every time a new class of troopers graduates, existing troopers can put in a transfer request to their home troop or to another troop of their choosing, he said.
Four new troopers who graduated with 43 others from the most recent cadet class Aug. 21 will start work in Troop E beginning Aug. 31.
"This time around, I think we have six transferring out, so we'll be two short. That's just how it works," Brown said.
There could be a class, or several classes, from which new troopers are not assigned to a particular troop, according to Brown. That last occurred in December, when none of the 49 new troopers who graduated were assigned to Troop E.
More: State police eyeing spring move-in at new Troop E headquarters
New troopers who are assigned to a particular troop start off with a 60-day coaching period, spending 30 days with two different senior troopers, Brown said. They take everything they learned in the academy and put it into practice while learning their new areas and things such as the rules and regulations of the station and the various patrol zones before heading out on their own, he said.
The state police's latest hiring cycle opened Aug. 1.
Contact Tim Hahn at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: State funds more state police cadet classes. Will any come to Erie?