POLICE TRAINING

[para-carrier]

I go to the range and watch the local police dep. practise . God bless 'em. But what i see is a lack of training. You would think that at ten yards they would be awesome. ..... wow they suck and mind you i apreciate what they do but is there a lack of training ? not their fault. But are they just ticket writers anymore. no dig against the law enforcment that are participating in this thread. But i leave my home and family for work on a regular basis and is this what i have to depend on ?........................ I'm just a little worried.

[Whiskey Delta]

Yep, you'd expect that any job in which you might have to depend on your ability to shoot to protect your life and the life of others MIGHT get you to the range more often, but there you go.

I'd say fully 70 percent of the cops I know are good shots and proficient.

Oddly, there is a contingent that only pulls their gun out during qualifications, and they aren't happy doing it then either.

One guy I knew was carrying this old .357 and it was friggin RUSTY.

Could not believe my eyes. He just didn't care.

Cops are like everyone, some are good at their jobs and some suck.

Some know how to use their "tools" and some don't.

Seen plumbers that could not remove a sink faucet to save their own lives, and seen auto mechanics who routinely put a car back together and have 'parts' left over...lol.

[JoeWilliams]

Yep, you'd expect that any job in which you might have to depend on your ability to shoot to protect your life and the life of others MIGHT get you to the range more often, but there you go.

I'd say fully 70 percent of the cops I know are good shots and proficient.

Oddly, there is a contingent that only pulls their gun out during qualifications, and they aren't happy doing it then either.

One guy I knew was carrying this old .357 and it was friggin RUSTY.

Could not believe my eyes. He just didn't care.

Cops are like everyone, some are good at their jobs and some suck.

Some know how to use their "tools" and some don't.

Seen plumbers that could not remove a sink faucet to save their own lives, and seen auto mechanics who routinely put a car back together and have 'parts' left over...lol.

Based on my experience when I was a cop, I'd say you need to reverse your percentages. I distinctly remember missing my target more than once, with my rounds somehow ending up on the one next to mine, so that person could make qualification.

There is more to being a cop than shooting skills. Yeah... some of those folks made me hope I never got into a shootout while riding with them. But those same people, through excellent deescalation skills, would be the ones giving us a smooth workday and keeping fights from starting. Which meant not getting my butt kicked.

[D-FENS]

You're just a sucker for inflammatory threads it seems.

[Whiskey Delta]

One of my friends who is a detective in Philly told me that the department used to budget for (I think) 50 rounds a month per officer, free for target practice. You could not take them home but you could shoot for free to keep in practice.

Apparently, not many took advantage of the program based on what I recall him telling me.


I wonder if it is still so...

[Whiskey Delta]

Based on my experience when I was a cop, I'd say you need to reverse your percentages.

You are probably right overall, but I was referring to guys with whom I was on 'friend' terms.

I guess I just hang out with people of a similar mindset.


I have heard from cops I worked with but didn't "know" all kinds of other crap. One guy went off on the NRA one time because I suggested that the PD auction off the guns they confiscated and could not return to the original owners...I worked with his nephew and he confirmed the guy was a giant douche.

[Kaos]

Normally Im not this blunt.

Dont feed the troll.

[Exbiker]

I go to the range and watch the local police dep. practise . God bless 'em. But what i see is a lack of training. You would think that at ten yards they would be awesome. ..... wow they suck and mind you i apreciate what they do but is there a lack of training ? not their fault. But are they just ticket writers anymore. no dig against the law enforcment that are participating in this thread. But i leave my home and family for work on a regular basis and is this what i have to depend on ?........................ I'm just a little worried.

Firearms training is just a tiny portion of police training. Even back in the day when many officers were marksmen an officer could do a 25 year career and never fire his weapon in the line of duty.
Police action is more often then not reactive not proactive. They can`t sit in everybody`s driveway like personal security. Protecting your family, living in a relatively safe place and making your family situationally aware is your responsibility.

[VTLO910]

It is really a toss up... Most of the time it has to do with two things... The Officer, and the Budget.


Some Officers WANT to train, but the Dept lacks funds, so it is up to the individual Officer to practice on their own dime.

My Agency has us qualifying 3 times a year, and we might be going to 4 times a year. I'm glad they do this, as MOST agencies are only required to qualify yearly.

Who knows what the REAL percentages are, but I have been on many ranges wondering what some Officers were shooting at, while others just made small more crowded.

My biggest fear at the range is not qualifying Expert. I consider myself a modest person, and certainly NO Competition Champ, but I have done well enough through the Military and Police Agencies that I have always made it to the top tier. It always leaves me something to push for every time, Distinguished Expert (100%)... and I'm OK with that... You should always have a carrot to dangle in front of you to get you motivated...lol

I'm a quick shooter, but it causes me to lose some accuracy... My personal goal is to slow down and become more smooth, steady, and accurate...

Anywho, now I'm blabbing on...

Advice: If your the type of COP who needs a lil help, don't be embarrassed, find a buddy and kill some paper.

[Farbmeister]

At my class of 120+ trainees less than 30% passed firearms qualification on the first pass.

Some actually were still trying to qualify THE DAY OF GRADUATION. Some still failed out (3-4 IIRC). Thankfully the staff didn't just pass them.

In the Navy... the only time someone failed was because they want to shoot more and the M14 was a blast (free ammo!) The 1911s we shot many were still blued.

I hate when LEO is at the range, because they seem to go into unofficial range master mode. Yeah.. great.. turn it off Barney... we are not impressed.