LANSING — The Michigan State Police Niles Post is getting three new troopers following the graduation of the 124th Trooper Recruit School Friday.

Tpr. Kelly Anderson, of Clarkston; Tpr. Robert Lindsay, of Trenton; and Tpr. Scott Wehler, of Grand Rapids, have all been assigned to the Niles Post.

Local recruits graduating Friday were Jesse Binns, of Cassopolis, and Jacob Cox, of Dowagiac. Binns is assigned to the Paw Paw Post and Cox the Rockford Post.

A total of 90 troopers graduated.

Gov. Rick Snyder served as the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

“The graduates of the 124th Michigan State Police Trooper Recruit School will play a critical role in public safety for our state, helping make communities and neighborhoods safer for our families and our economic vitality,” Snyder said.

Funding made available as part of Governor Snyder’s public safety plan allowed for the hiring of 180 troopers in 2013, which includes this graduating class and the 78 troopers who graduated from the 123rd Trooper Recruit School in October. These additional troopers will help support law enforcement efforts in the state’s most violent cities of Flint, Detroit, Pontiac and Saginaw, as well as underserved communities throughout the state.

The 124th Trooper Recruit School began on Oct. 28 when 114 prospective troopers reported to the MSP Training Academy. For the past 22 weeks, recruits received training in firearms, water safety, defensive tactics, patrol techniques, report writing, ethics, first aid, criminal law, crime scene processing and precision driving.  Graduating recruits were assigned to MSP work sites across the state and will report to their respective posts for duty next week.

Of the 90 graduating recruits, 78 have continued their education with college studies, 16 have served in the United States Military and 12 have prior law enforcement experience.

The department solicited over 2,000 potential candidates for the 124th Trooper Recruit School.

Special emphasis was given to recruiting military veterans and certified police officers without employment. In order to be selected to attend the academy, all applicants had to pass a stringent selection process that included a physical fitness test, background investigation and hiring interview.

The 125th Trooper Recruit School is set to begin May 12 and an additional trooper recruit school is anticipated in early 2014. Interested candidates should visit www.michigan.gov/mspjobs for more information on how to apply.

As of March 2, there were 886 at-post troopers stationed at 29 posts across Michigan.