Former Topeka police chief starts new training program at Washburn Tech

TOPEKA (KSNT)- Former Topeka Chief of Police, Bill Cochran, is now starting a new part of his life at Washburn Tech with the creation of a new institute.

The Public Safety Institute consists of five sessions that are geared more towards existing law enforcement personnel or people who want to get involved in that profession.

“We want to be able to provide in-service hours for law enforcement officers all throughout the state of Kansas,” he said.

Every year, in order to continue to do the job, law enforcement must complete 40 hours of continuing education. With this new initiative, Cochran said they can provide quality education and training sessions that are affordable and efficient.

Cochran said his time with law enforcement helped prepare him to spearhead this project, but emphasized how his time outside of the department has helped him as well.

“Being out of law enforcement now, you get to see how a lot of these issues are addressed and talked about,” he said.

Prior to the creation of the program, they identified critical issues in law enforcement that they felt needed to be addressed in 2023. These areas of concern are as follows:

Public’s perception of lawlessness

Recruitment

Homelessness/unsheltered/behavioral health

Community trust

Officer well-being

Each of the five sessions for the initiative will focus specifically on one of these topics. The first session is Feb. 28 to break down the ‘Public’s Perception of Lawlessness.’

Each session is $25 and you can easily get registered by calling Washburn Tech directly at (785)-383-3892. If you can’t get in touch with someone via email, Cochran said you can also contact him directly at [email protected].

All of the sessions will be at Washburn Tech located at 5724 SW Huntoon St. For more information on the initiative, click here.