The thread on LEOSA quals got me thinking. How much training do other LEO's get on firearms. Our kids are usually pretty squared away when leaving the academy, but we do 40 hours in-house firearms training before we send them.

OK minimums are as follows:

*Basic Academy: 72 hours including night fire and video simulation
*Basic Instructor (req. to attempt firearms instructor school): 40 hours
*Firearms Instructor Phase 1: 16 hours - Instructor candidates can "test out" with a 480 PPC score
*Firearms Instructor Phase 2: 24 hours Minimum 540 PPC.
*Firearms Instructor Phase 3-6: 90 hours
*Firearms Instructor Phase 7: 72 hours

Those only include pistol and shotgun.

*Basic Carbine: 24 hours
*Carbine Instructor: 40 hours
*Long Range Rifle Operator: 24 hours
*Long Range Rifle Instructor: 24 hours

Now, I thought that was all pretty standard until I spoke to a few guys from out of state. It appears many states only have a week or two of training for firearms instructors. I have a buddy in the FBI. He just became a firearms instructor for FLETC after a week of school.

To all the LEO's, what are your state's standards?

Some years ago in OH:
40 hours to be certified as an LE Instructor.
Then you specialized.
Revolver instructor. Semi auto instructor. Patrol rifle. Shotgun.
I dont recall the hour requirement for the specialty courses but they all were multi day.
Bolt rifle was a SWAT specialty and I did not do it.
I was also armorer for Glock, S&W Auto pistol, Sig, H&K and Remington. I wanted the Colt School but could never get in.
I also was a Simuntions and F.A.T.S trainer.
I went to 2 and sometimes 3 shooting schools per year to maintain my certifications.
My PD shot 4 times a year, rifle and shotgun each session. Simunitions were used to for night fire, vehicle related shooting training and force on force.
I also was trained in post shooting investigations and post incident survival.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Some years ago in OH:
40 hours to be certified as an LE Instructor.
Then you specialized.
Revolver instructor. Semi auto instructor. Patrol rifle. Shotgun.
I dont recall the hour requirement for the specialty courses but they all were multi day.
Bolt rifle was a SWAT specialty and I did not do it.
I was also armorer for Glock, S&W Auto pistol, Sig, H&K and Remington. I wanted the Colt School but could never get in.
I also was a Simuntions and F.A.T.S trainer.
I went to 2 and sometimes 3 shooting schools per year to maintain my certifications.
My PD shot 4 times a year, rifle and shotgun each session. Simunitions were used to for night fire, vehicle related shooting training and force on force.
I also was trained in post shooting investigations and post incident survival.

Thanks. No live-fire at night?

I did a few live fire courses at night, but Simuntions enabled us to do indoor shootings in our mall, an old warehouse and our schools. It was useful to train for traffic stops without puncturing a Crown Vic. It gave valuable realistic training in building search and clearance, Force on force, and flashlight use. I just had to clean up afterward and hope we did not puncture the drywall too much!

40 hours for the initial training and a 3 day refresher every 3 years. 40 hours for Simunitions instructor also.

Sig armorer, M16 armorer, soon to add P320 armorer.

I wish I was joking on this, but I'm not.

A girl I went to High School with is a cop in a small seaside town near me. I was asking what gear she carried one day, and she said "Glock? I think it's the Glock 9"

I asked for clarification, and she said she "wasn't a gun girl, just carried what they gave her"

I asked how much she practiced, and she flat out said "Only what they require. 20 shots twice a year. I don't do anything beyond that"

Then she was honestly surprised to learn that I carried, and she had the audacity to ask me why, and then act all offended when I answered that I had zero confidence in a police force that didn't know what type of gun they carry, and practice less over the course of a year than I averaged in a week.

I have been retired a while but this is mostly still current.

Florida basic police academy requires 80 hours of firearms training including night fire with an annual requalification. What happens after that depends upon the department. My department was well capitalized so we had a pretty robust training program. My department put recruits through an other 40 hours of firearms post academy before they went on the street as well as a number of other training classes. We shot 4 times per year, two of which were practice and training and the other two were department qualifications.

Patrol rifle is a 40 hour curriculum. Select fire 40 hours. Long rifle was 80 hours but is usually part of SWAT training.

Many of our SWAT officers were also firearms instructors. We sent instructors to the regional police academy as adjunct instructors.

Instructors must attend an 80 hour instructor course and have to do refresher training to stay current.

Many instructors attend other instructor training programs such as NRA Law Enforcement Instructor Development, SIG Academy, Glock Academy, IALEFI training courses and conferences, etc. If you have NRA Law Enforcement instructor credentials you need to take a course every 3 years to stay current.

Again every department is different and you will find a wide range of training requirements from once annual qualifications to intensive firearms programs. The last 4 chiefs at my former department had been SWAT guys so they are pro training.

For Arkansas (off the top of my head):

New cadets are required to have qualified with their handgun at their agency before attending the academy. That can be anywhere from 20 minutes of instruction/qual, to a day or more of in-house training, before the academy.

At the academy, they receive 40 hours of basic handgun/shotgun/rifle/night fire training ("Range Week"), another 40ish hours of various more advanced firearms tactics training for shooting from cover/barricades, shooting on the move, shooting in/around vehicles, etc., 16 hours of active shooter/building clearing training, plus several hours of simunition force-on-force and video simulation MILO firearms training.

After the academy, the state yearly minimum is 2 hours of annual handgun training and annual qualification. Each agency sets their own training schedule beyond that. Most of the larger agencies shoot quarterly, with one shoot being the annual qual, one being a night qual, and the other two being whatever other type of training course they want to run. Many smaller agencies only shoot 50 rounds once a year for the annual qual.

Patrol rifles, precision/sniper rifles, and shotguns all require a minimum of one separate annual qualification each, plus whatever additional prerequisite training and ongoing training the various agencies requires for that weapon. For example, some agencies run a 3 or 5 day rifle course before they'll allow officers to carry a rifle, while others only do 1 day or a half-day of familiarization.

A firearms instructor certificate requires completing a 1 week Firearms Instructor course. To attend that Firearms Instructor course, you have to have at least 5 years of service, have already completed a week-long basic Instructor Development course (that class is a prerequisite to being a certified police instructor for any topic), and be able to shoot at least 90% on the state handgun qual.

quote:

Originally posted by HayesGreener:
The last 4 chiefs at my former department had been SWAT guys so they are pro training.

That would be nice.