Government Technology - August 2008 - (Page 48)

justice coordinator of Ulster County Community College’s Criminal Justice Department. “It helps provide distress inoculation — when you’re in a stressful position you’ll have the skill level to handle it.” “We’re trying to make an impact on getting people to understand why law enforcement does what they do.” Egidio Tinti, lieutenant, Kingston Police Department Hundreds of Scenarios The simulator records data about the scenario, including the training officer’s reactions, voice commands, bullet tracers and where the officer’s gun muzzle was pointing at all times. The information allows the trainer to play back the video and discuss what the trainee did right and wrong. The simulator allows firearms training in an atmosphere where life and limb aren’t on the line. Teaching proper gun handling is difficult to do on a range when shooting with paper targets. With the simulator, the trainer can show trainees what they are doing wrong instead of just telling them. “We’d been using force-on-force means [paintball guns] in the past, but this is excel- AUG_08 lent,” Tinti said. “It’s safe, it’s clean and you can play it back and show them where they’re hitting, where they’re aiming, whether they’re cognizant of the fact that they’re not behind cover. It provides a lot of different avenues.” There are two components of the system: a firearms training component, which teaches basic stance, grip of the gun, etc.; and a decision-making component. “Jerking the trigger, anticipating recoil — you won’t see that on a range very well,” Truitt said. “And you can’t argue with the playback. They can see exactly where the muzzle was pointed and where every shot went. If it didn’t hit the target, where did it go?” There are hundreds of scenarios for honing officers’ decision-making skills. “It might be an off-duty situation where you’re in a mall and a robber runs in and says, ‘Show me your hands,’ and the officer has to do something, either verbally or a straight engagement,” Tinti said. “The guy might have just shot and you don’t have time to say drop the gun. You have to engage to save the life of another.” Sometimes, trainees are required to go outside and exercise, then come back inside and train on FATS with an elevated heartbeat to simulate a pressure situation. Going over hundreds of simulated scenarios gives the officer some knowledge and experience to fall back on during a crisis, when a split-second decision must be made. “Can you shoot a person holding a knife?” Tinti asked. “Here’s what I tell students: ‘yes and no.’ If they’re 10 feet away and they say, ‘I’m gonna kill you,’ and make a motion toward you, the officer will have to engage. 48 MOTOA4 Mission Critical Portfolio THE INCIDENT NEEDS YOUR FOCUS. THE TECHNOLOGY SHOULDN’T In an emergency, multi-agency coordination isn’t a luxury — it is a necessity. And Motorola makes this necessity a reality. Our interoperable data and voice solutions empower response teams with real-time information to make better decisions. For example, our evacuee tracking application enables responders to better assist and track individuals throughout the evacuation process. When responders and command staff have the tools to prepare and respond to emergency situations, recovery operations are more effective, helping government and citizens get back to normal quicker. It’s no wonder our interoperable networks have been implemented more often than all other manufacturers combined. It’s just another way Motorola enables government agencies to focus on their mission, not the technology. HELLOMOTO™ Learn more about how Motorola can help your community respond to crises more effectively by downloading our case study “Texas Evacuation Tracking System” at motorola.com/secondnature/gtevac MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Ofﬁce. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © Motorola, Inc. 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.govtech.com http://motorola.com/secondnature/gtevac http://motorola.com/secondnature/gtevac

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - August 2008

Government Technology - August 2008 Contents Point of View The Last Mile Big Picture On the Scene Four Questions for... Net Gains A Government Technology® Industry Profile: CA CA Contents IT Network Management: State and Local Governments Face New Challenges MyFloridaNet Arkansas Department of Information Systems Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Government Tightens Its Belt Rocking the Vote High-Speed Portal Project On Track Wi-Fi on a Shoestring From Paintball to Video Virtually Vulnerable How It Works Products signal:noise

Government Technology - August 2008

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