Gov. Eric Holcomb and other state officials cut the ribbon on a new scenario-based training village at the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Academy on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Plainfield. Photo by Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANA — Gov. Eric Holcomb and other state officials on Wednesday, Oct. 30, cut the ribbon for part of a new, $70 million addition to the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

Highlighted at the unveiling was a scenario-based training village that includes a mock liquor store and jail. Timothy Horty, ILEA’s director, said small groups of trainees are expected to start using the new facility “in the very near future.”

“We try to create a learning environment that is as real for our young police officers as we can possibly make it,” Horty said from Plainfield-based training academy. “I think this place will become the envy of law enforcement training around the country.”

Also included in the ongoing expansion are updated classrooms and training facilities, Indiana State Police offices, emergency vehicle track and a new dormitory.

Holcomb applauded the training center as a “premier destination” for members of law enforcement to gain “actual immersive experience, education and training.” He emphasized, too, that the simulated environment helps officers develop “instinctual” responses for real-life scenarios.

“This is realizing not just a goal, but the mission of the men and women who put on the uniform every day and invest their lives to make sure ours are safe,” the governor said. “We obviously understand that education and training are paramount to an officer’s well being — whether that’s in the smallest town in Indiana, or in one of our largest cities.”

“… we have an educational and training facility right here in Plainfield, Indiana, that is the envy of the nation,” Holcomb continued. “We’ve got folks from multiple states coming here, as they have done for other assets that we’ve modernized and improved and reinvested in. But now they’re coming here to see how we support not through rhetoric, but through actual investment, in our law enforcement officials. Today’s that day to celebrate.”

In 2021, Holcomb approved a proposal from state lawmakers to earmark $70 million in new funding for ILEA. Combined with additional federal funds, the training academy has received $96 million overall to accommodate “greatly needed upgrades,” according to the governor’s office.

The academy provides basic training to more than 600 Hoosier law enforcement officers annually and is the state’s only residential facility to house student officers who are in training from across the state.