LANSING - Emergencies happen. Cars crash, burglars break in and fires destroy homes.

Through it all, the State Police's mission is to be the first line of defense.

But trooper shortages in recent years have made it more difficult for the State Police to be that line in the sand.

The department has hemorrhaged 350 troopers since 2000 due to retirements, leaving only 1,027 on the job.

Michigan couldn't afford to replenish its ranks by regularly holding 20-week training programs for recruits hoping to become troopers, Shanon Akans of the State Police said.

Trooper school, as the State Police academy is called, is state-funded. With the state strapped for cash, the department hasn't held its basic training since 2004.

Now four years later, the money may be on its way. In her 2008-2009 budget, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has proposed more than $8 million to train 100 new troopers, said Leslee Fritz of the state Budget Office.

"Over the past couple of years, the State Police have taken budget cuts and trooper strength dwindled. The governor wanted to be sure they have sufficient trooper levels to complete their mission of keeping the public safe," Fritz said.

Sen. Valde Garcia R-Howell, chair of the Senate State Police Appropriations Subcommittee, said he isn't sure these new troopers will be enough to complete that mission.

Police expect 80 of the 100 recruits to graduate and take positions around the state. But over the next three years, 75 troopers are expected to retire, meaning that by 2010, Michigan will have only five more officers than it does today, Garcia said.

"We should look at other options, look at some of the other academies around the state and see if they can train troopers," he said. "They might not be able to do it to the same level that the State Police do, but we should look at." Regardless, trooper school will start in the early fall with recruits chosen by their performance on law enforcement exams, physical fitness tests, background checks and a number of other requirements, Akans said.

Lt. Jim Shaw, commander of the Jackson post, can attest to the department's dwindling strength. He considers himself fortunate to have received a handful of officers from the last graduating class of troopers three years ago. But it wasn't enough to meet the demand.

Shaw said he was forced to cut 24-hour staffing of the post lobby and to work closely with local law enforcement agencies to cover emergency calls - anything he could to do to avoid eliminating 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week State Police patrols.

Other, smaller posts weren't so lucky and abandoned their round-the-clock policing, Shaw said.

"A trooper shortage, like we are seeing, really impacts our ability to deliver police services. It creates more work for the officers we do have and longer response times for the people waiting," he said. All of which are problems Shaw hopes will be eliminated after recruits who have waited several years to wear the badge finally graduate from trooper school.

Former Lt. Len Dawson didn't sound so certain.

As training coordinator of the Public Safety Institute at Northern Michigan University, Dawson has seen several of his cadets give up their dreams of becoming troopers as years passed without a training program. Dawson is one of the officers the state lost to retirement.

"I retired in 2003 after 25 years as a state trooper. It was a fantastic career, but I don't think it is as inviting as it used to be." he said. "I think recruits are kind of gun-shy. One minute, they are laying troopers off, the next minute they're holding trooper school."

Dawson just heard from one of his former students who had aspired to become a trooper. The young man had received word that trooper school would resume this fall, but told Dawson he wouldn't pursue it.

He's happy as a police officer in Charlevoix County.