LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB/WAVE) — The Jeffersonville Police Department debuted a new tool that will help its officers take their training to the next level.
The new virtual training tool, called the 180 simulator, allows police officers to run through different scenarios they may face to sharpen their skills. While JPD already had a simulator tool available, this one allows multiple officers to train at the same time and includes more than 1,000 scenarios.
"We might have a one-officer response, a two-officer response, or a three-officer response...just being very creative with what we throw at them," said Corporal Thomas Lawson with JPD. "The big thing is reduce risk and increase confidence...that’s the best thing we can do for our department."
The simulator comes with a gun modeled after the real guns officers use. Officers can practice their shooting skills and run through scenarios that change based on how they respond.
Right now, five JPD officers are trained to actually run the system, including Lawson and Corporal Darren Broady.
"We can have officers in here practicing marksmanship, decision making in here for free, in a weather environment that’s not snowing, raining...so they feel comfortable with the weapon system, and then take them to the range," Broady said.
The department's SWAT team has been using the simulator and a group of JPD officers just got back from out-of-state training on it last week.
Lawson said it will become available to other officers this fall, and he hopes other departments in the area will be able to use it too.
"It just makes you an overall better officer, and it's not just for us, too, it's for the public," Lawson said. "That's what we’re here for."
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