Target Practice Just Got More Realistic
By Mark Waller, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
The days of police practicing their aim by firing at strips of paper hanging in shooting ranges could be numbered.
The Kenner Police Department has a new kind of shooting range, one in which a computer presents a virtual crime in progress to officers.
And the officers must respond properly, because the range shoots back. An air gun launches small plastic balls at trainees when suspects on a large video screen fire their guns.
Training officer Robert Lee said the simulator creates a realistic crime-scene adrenaline rush, something that’s lacking when an officer practices by repeatedly shooting at paper silhouettes.
“You can’t replace elevating the heart rate,” Lee said. “It’s going to make it as real as possible.”
The department purchased the $ 80,000 system last month and set it up in a classroom at the department’s training facility.
In the simulation, officers watch a videotaped crime scene and decide when to shoot their 9mm handguns at people in the image. When the suspects raise their guns, officers can use a pole or a car door propped up in the room for cover.
The range shoots balls toward them while lasers track the officers’ shots. As the officers shoot, air pressure ejects casings from their guns, so just like in a real crime, the weapons can jam. If they hit a target, the video cuts to a scene of the suspect falling.
After it’s over, a computer shows the accuracy of the shots, giving officers a chance to review their performance for further practice.
“It’s a new and innovative weapons range simulation,” Chief Nick Congemi said. “This is not only going to save police officers’ lives, but innocent victims’ lives, too.