The Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission has voted to approve the creation of a new police academy at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster County.

“The creation of a new academy will generate additional opportunities for qualified individuals in York and Lancaster counties who want to become municipal police officers,” said Michael Corricelli, director of training and curriculum development at the commission. “Elizabethtown College, in partnership with local stakeholders, reports that it is equipped and prepared to create a first-class training center addressing the needs of local police departments looking to identify, recruit and train tomorrow’s police officers.”

Four other colleges that submitted letters of interest were also approved to submit full applications for new academies. The four institutions are Bucks County Community College; Luzerne County Community College; Penn State DuBois in Clearfield County; and Penn West University in Clarion County.

A date for submission of full applications has not yet been determined.

Since January 2023, funding in the two budgets has included money to hire nearly 800 new state police troopers and supported the hiring of 700 local police officers through grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.