Providing quality and accessible training opportunities to strengthen public service agencies in Kansas is the focus of the Washburn Tech Business and Industry Center's Public Safety Institute. The initiative customizes training to fit the needs of individual safety entities, especially smaller departments that have limited resources. According to the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, half of the approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. have fewer than 10 officers, which can lead to budget constraints that limit training opportunities. Training can also be customized for local governments as they work to better serve their constituents while utilizing public dollars in a cost-effective manner.
Washburn Tech's Public Safety Institute customizes training to fit the needs of local governments and public service agencies to address specific issues as well as provide structured training in leadership, recruiting and public safety. Offerings include a set of training courses or customized training modules in the areas of corrections, law enforcement, leadership, administration and behavioral health.
Currently, the following eight-hour training sessions are planned through the end of 2023:
Training is customized to fit the needs of individual entities. This is especially important for smaller agencies whose budgets struggle with the expense of training, travel and shift coverage. If you training needs are outside of the topics listed, please contact Washburn Tech for course development.
Cochran has spent 36 years in municipal city government which includes serving as Topeka's interim city manager, the chief of staff for the city manager’s office in Topeka and retiring as the city's chief of police.
In January 2018, Cochran was appointed as Topeka's chief of police. He joined the Topeka Police Department in 1987 and served in every bureau of the agency.
He is a graduate of the Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety Police Staff & Command School; the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) and has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Friends University and bachelor's degree from Washburn University in Criminal Justice with minors in history, political science and sociology.
Cochran is very active in the Topeka community and serves on several boards that include The Tower Foundation through the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), United Way Kaw Valley and the Washburn University Criminal Justice Advisory Board.
He retired from the Kansas Army National Guard in 2005 after a 13-month combat tour in Iraq. He was awarded the Joint Commendation Service Medal with Valor for actions in combat and the Combat Action Badge.
Contact Bill Cochran at william.cochran@washburn.edu or (785) 383.3892.
