A
group of lawmakers were at the State Capitol Tuesday discussing where they can
find more funding for the West Virginia State Police Crimes Against Children
Unit.
Members
of the Legislature’s Select Committee on Crimes Against Children are seeking
funding for a new class of state troopers so the State Police unit dedicated to
preventing and resolving crimes against children can be expanded.
Committee
members have spent the past five months consulting with professionals across
the state who work to protect vulnerable and abused children and have realized
that there is a need.
A new
class of state troopers graduates would allow for more experienced
officers to be moved into the Crimes Against Children Unit.
Currently,
there are 18 uniformed members of the Crimes Against Child Unit. Of
those,14 are investigators, three are supervisors and there is one analyst.
There are six civilian personnel.
The
cost to train and equip a class of 50 new troopers would be about
$5.7 million.
