About 50 new recruits report to the training academy in Baton Rouge this weekend in the hopes of becoming Louisiana State Troopers. The first academy cadet class will arrive on Sunday.

It's the first batch to begin since 2008. State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson is looking forward to filling positions that have gone unfunded because of state budget constraints. In 2012, Col. Edmonson told the New Orleans Times-Picayune he was reallocating troopers from behind the desk to patrol the roads to make up for a manpower short-fall of at least 36 state-wide.

The 19-week course the cadets will go through entails classroom instruction on state and federal laws, ethics, crash investigations and detection of impaired drivers. Their training will also involve field training exercises including how to handle car chases, firearms training, defensive tactics and daily physical fitness routines.

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