FRANKFORT, KY – The Kentucky Justice Cabinet announced today actions that will be taken to strengthen procedures used to monitor training and the issuance of licenses for the Carry Concealed Deadly Weapons (CCDW) program.

The announcement comes at the conclusion of a five-month joint federal and state investigation into instructors failing to provide mandatory firearms training. The carry concealed law mandates that each applicant  receive a minimum of eight hours of classroom training and demonstrate  proficiency on the firing range.

Six individuals indicted today in U.S. Federal District Court in Lexington  provided applicants with training certificates, which allowed them to apply for a carry concealed deadly weapon license. These instructors knowingly failed to require applicants to complete either all or a portion of the mandatory training, which initially could affect up to 3,000 individuals. Each applicant paid a fee to the instructor for a training certificate.

"Upon learning that some CCDW license holders may have been misled regarding the training requirements, we asked the Department of State Police and the Department of Criminal Justice Training to immediately look into the situation," said Justice Cabinet General Counsel Barbara Jones.

The two departments administer the program. State Police issues the license after a criminal background check and receipt of a training certificate from the Department of Criminal Justice Training indicating that the applicant has completed firearms training. A CCDW license is then issued for a 5-year period.

As a result of this investigation, the Justice Cabinet is taking the following corrective action to ensure integrity to the program.

* The Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) will file emergency administrative regulations to change training procedures:

1. All instructors must notify DOCJT, in writing, 30 days before each CCDW class they teach. Notification must include time, date and place of the class along with a class roster.
2. All Justice Cabinet instructor training shall now be provided directly by DOCJT, including re-certification training.
3. Instructors who have not taught a class in the three years they are certified will not be eligible for re-certification. They may choose to repeat the entire instructor course again through DOCJT.
4. If an individual has violated instructor requirements OR becomes ineligible to hold a CCDW license, then the instructor certificate will be revoked.

* Criminal Justice Training will notify by mail all of the state's 753 CCDW instructors of the changes in the law.

* Those license holders discovered through this investigation who have not received the mandatory training will have their CCDW license immediately revoked. The state police will send notification to these license holders.

* Letters will go out Friday from the state police to license holders who we have reason to believe were not properly trained and who may  have been misled regarding the mandatory training requirements.  These license holders will be required to verify the content of their  training. They will be required to provide a response by March 28, 2002.

* Letters will go out Friday from Criminal Justice Training to trainees  who have not applied for a CCDW license. The letter will indicate that  we believe they were not properly trained and may have been misled  regarding the mandatory training requirements. These license holders will be required to verify the content of their training by March 28, 2002.

If a license holder feels that they have not completed all of the training components required by the CCDW law, they should immediately cease carrying their weapon concealed.

The Kentucky State Police is establishing a toll-free number to answer questions concerning the CCDW licensing program. The number is 866-294-0134.

Copies of the letters and forms are also available on the Kentucky Justice Cabinet website at http://www.jus.state.ky.us/press/nr03_07_02.htm.