LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 6, 2026) – Today, Team Kentucky honored 11 Kentucky State Police (KSP) civilian employees for their outstanding commitment to public safety during the agency’s annual Civilian Awards ceremony. Awards presented included the 2025 Civilian of the Year, Career Achievement, Forensic Services Support Award and Supervisor of the Year, among others.
KSP’s 800 civilian employees serve in a wide range of essential roles, including examining forensic evidence in KSP laboratories, administering driver testing exams, providing emergency telecommunications services, and preparing nutritious meals for cadets and troopers.
“Thank you for committing yourselves to serving our communities and helping us build a safer Kentucky,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “Our award winners today, and every civilian employee, are the best of the best, and I thank each of them for their continued service to our commonwealth.”
During today’s award ceremony, KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. expressed the importance of the agency’s civilian staff members: “Our civilian employees are the backbone of this agency. While much of their work happens behind the scenes, their dedication, professionalism, and servant hearts strengthen this agency every day and make a lasting impact on public safety.”
Among this year’s honorees, Haley Delph was named the 2025 Civilian of the Year. A seven-year veteran of the agency, Delph serves as a Forensic Scientist Specialist II in the Seized Drugs Unit at the KSP Western Forensic Laboratory, where her expertise and commitment have made a significant impact on the agency’s mission. In 2025, Delph analyzed 1,086 seized drug submissions and is known for her productivity, unwavering commitment to quality and dedication to laboratory safety.
“I am deeply appreciative and full of gratitude to win this award,” Delph said. “There are many deserving civilians, and I feel honored to be chosen. I could not do the job that I do without my amazing coworkers and supervisors. I am grateful to help support the mission of the Kentucky State Police.”
The 2025 KSP civilian employee award recipients include:
Career Achievement Award
Gary Fraser, Post 1 Mayfield
Commercial Vehicle Support Award
Myles Cope, CVE Central Region
Forensic Services Support Award
Haley Delph, Western Forensic Laboratory
Police Communications Support Award
Daniel Rendleman, Post 3 Bowling Green
Professional Service Award
Jeremy Banta, Office of Operations, Critical Incident Response Team
Judy Brown, Office of Technical Services, Office of Technical ServicesJeremy Goss, Office of Administrative Services, Academy Branch
Dana Hanson, Office of Administrative Services, Public Affairs Branch
Catherine Renay Jenkins, Office of Operations, Post 12 Frankfort
Keith Webster, Office of Technical Services, IT Branch
Supervisor of the Year Award
Larry Boggs, Eastern Laboratory Branch
2025 Civilian of the Year
Haley Delph, Western Forensic Laboratory
The agency is recruiting interested individuals to join Team Kentucky who are ambitious to create a better, safer commonwealth for future generations. For more information and to apply, click here.
The Beshear-Coleman administration’s top priority is the safety of all Kentuckians. The Governor’s public safety actions are creating safer communities and a better Kentucky.
The 2024 Crime in Kentucky report, released in June, shows that, from 2024 to 2025, reports of serious crime decreased by 8.14%.
Since taking office, the Governor has championed salary increases for all state employees, including Kentucky State Police civilian employees. The 2026-2028 state budget included funding for additional raises in 2027 and 2028.
Since Gov. Beshear took office, more than 2,700 officers have graduated from one of Kentucky’s law enforcement training academies. As of the beginning of this month, 1,837 officers have graduated from the Department of Criminal Justice Training Basic Training Course and 307 have graduated from the Kentucky State Police Training Academy.
To continue increasing the amount of law enforcement officers protecting the commonwealth and to support the work of KSP, the Governor recently signed Senate Bill 102 to make it possible for retired KSP troopers appointed to Trooper R Class or commercial vehicle enforcement to return and serve the agency within specific timeframes.
In April, Team Kentucky broke ground on the Department of Criminal Justice Training’s new Madisonville campus. When completed, the $50 million project will house two buildings – a 42,800-square-foot classroom and administration building providing learning space, offices and recruit showers and changing areas, as well as a 30,625-square-foot high bay building, which will house an open training area, additional classroom space and gym equipment. The recently passed 2026-2028 state budget also allocates $13.1 million to construct a driving track at the new facility. The General Assembly did not include the full $64.8 million requested by the Governor in his executive budget proposal to construct both a driving track and an indoor firing range at the Madisonville facility.
For four straight years, overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky. In 2025, the commonwealth saw 22.9% fewer overdose deaths than the year prior.
Since Gov. Beshear took office, fewer Kentuckians have returned to prison after their release. For two years in a row, recidivism rates in the commonwealth have decreased, meaning that nearly 70% of those released from state custody have not returned.
In December, the Governor joined KSP and first responders in Mayfield to bring local agencies onto the new Kentucky State Police radio system. In his 2026-2028 executive budget proposal, Gov. Beshear requested funding to finish the project and ensure statewide coverage. The budget recently passed by the General Assembly did not provide the funding needed.
Last September, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman joined KSP to break ground on a new, state-of-the-art Drivers’ Skills Pad at the agency’s training academy in Frankfort. The $2.7 million project will provide troopers, officers and cadets with a facility dedicated to safely practice and refine advanced driving techniques.
In April of last year, Gov. Beshear was joined by members of the Cash family, the Kentucky law enforcement community and the Department of Criminal Justice Training to officially open the doors to the new law enforcement training facility named in honor of Jody Cash, who lost his life in the line of duty. The facility is a 42,794-square-foot facility with a 50-yard, 30-lane firing range designed for officers to learn intensive and specialized training that will support training all of Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies.
As the Governor recommended in January 2022, $12.2 million was included in the state budget for KSP to purchase body cameras, which is the first time in the commonwealth’s history that funding has been allocated for this much-needed expense.
For more information about KSP’s commitment to creating a better Kentucky by making the commonwealth’s streets safer, communities stronger, and the nation more secure by providing exceptional law enforcement, click here.
# # #
