Political science professor Dr. Laura Wiedlocher organized a speaker series in the Lumpkin Learning Commons this past semester. One event in the series revolved around state troopers and the challenges they face. Former state police officer and current Blackburn Director of Campus Safety Morrie Fraser and state police officer Keith Bryan both spoke to the Blackburn community at the final event in the series in April.
Fraser and Bryan shared experiences about a day in the life of Illinois law enforcement. “It varies greatly,” said Bryan, “Some days are definitely more action packed than others.” Both speakers shared several of their experiences working in law enforcement, some humorous and some serious.
The speakers also talked about the budget crisis that is currently facing Illinois and how it has affected state police and how it could affect them in the future. They shared stories of the dwindling number of trainees attending state trooper training and how it was difficult for those who had graduated to get hired into the ranks. “We have less state police officers now than we ever have,” said Fraser. “That means the ones who are left have a larger territory to cover by themselves,” added Bryan.
Wiedlocher explained why she thought it was important for students to learn about those that protect them and said, “ …As part of the series, Spencer [Brayton, Director of the Lumpkin Learning Commons] and I had hoped to bring in people from many different government areas to give students a broad sample of the kinds of work in and around government. I hope that their talk accomplished my goal of educating students about the process of becoming a state police officer and the variety of jobs out there.”
Despite the current hardship they are going through, becoming a state police officer is quite a career opportunity with a beginning salary of over $50,000. Wiedlocher also thought it was important for students to learn about the career opportunity and said in closing, “Public service takes on many forms and I think it’s good for students to be aware of the nature of state police and how it differs from policing at the county and local level.”