The head of the Michigan State Police says the agency is working hard to attract new troopers.
The MSP's current recruit class is undergoing training.
Colonel Joe Gasper admits public perception of a law enforcement career and other issues are affecting the number of applicants compared to when he started 25 years ago.
"We had an applicant pool of anywhere from three to five thousand people. Now, our applicant pool is probably a little bit closer to five or six hundred," he said.
Gasper says diversity remains a challenge as well.
For example, he says only nine of the current 82 cadets are women.
Gasper also adds the MSP has been making changes to training for this latest recruiting class.