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In Their Shoes: Law Enforcement Simulator Demonstrations

​No one ever wants to come face to face with a gun barrel. But police officers face the potential for unpredictable circumstances and emergencies every day. Having the chance to simulate an incident that involves a gun gives officers a higher level of confidence when dealing with that same real-life situation.

Many law enforcement agencies in South Carolina are taking advantage of a computerized training simulator that puts officers into life-threatening scenarios to help them understand how to respond if they are in a similar situation.

The simulator helps teach and reinforce proper use-of-force decision making and gives users a firsthand understanding of what these highly charged encounters entail. Training in these simulated stressful situations helps the officer make similar real-life decisions under duress.

The Municipal Association's Risk Management Services programs have been using the simulator for 15 months and have trained more than 800 officers in 26 police departments around the state. The focus is also on training the trainer, so that large and small departments alike can benefit from this unique hands-on learning.

Local officials attending the Municipal Association's Annual Meeting can get a demonstration of the simulator on Friday, July 20.