Risk Mitigation
A partnership between insurers, police departments, and DART.
The recent national spotlight on police officer training has prompted risk managers and underwriters to look for strategies to help local police departments lower risk. One way to do this is by facilitating increased training. Through a special program with insurance underwriters and pools, DART can offer this training at a substantially reduced cost.
We expect our police officers to respond quickly and appropriately to potential threats, but what are the consequences if they cannot? Could someone be hurt or killed due to a lack of training? Where does the liability lie? And more importantly, what can be done to improve officer training?
Consider the current methods of police training. Whether it’s the range, simulation training, or classroom time, departments are constantly pushing against budget and time restrictions, manpower requirements, and safety concerns. Together, these create insurmountable obstacles that prevent frequent practice. It’s not that officers aren’t willing to practice more often. It’s that they haven’t been given the right tool.
In order to be used frequently, training must be readily accessible at all times. To do the most good, it must be priced so that even small departments – which make up the majority of law enforcement agencies – can afford to implement it. It must support the development of a wide variety of skill sets. And it must be easy enough for any individual to set up and use. Take away any of these, and you’re left with a training platform that is inaccessible and won’t be used as often as it needs to be.
Introduction
DART is a firearms simulation system, similar in many ways to others that you may be familiar with, but with a few notable differences in size, cost, capabilities, and ease of use. These differences are critical because it makes simulation training accessible to more departments than ever before – and we believe that the best training is one that is actually used.
System Cost
Most training simulators are priced well outside the reach of the majority of police departments. DART focuses on delivering critical firearm simulation training at an extremely affordable price. A complete training system plus turnkey firearms and de-escalation training is priced at just $10,000 and special incentives can reduce or even eliminate that cost.
Size and Portability
The DART system is exceptionally portable. In fact, it has the smallest footprint of any simulation training system available. This means that DART can be set up and used in the smallest of spaces by departments of all sizes.
Capability
DART uses the latest 3D technology instead of outdated video clip technology employed by most simulator systems. This means that DART can be used to train a wide range of skill sets and will continue to grow and improve over time.
Ease of Use
Another roadblock to frequent practice is the time and manpower it takes to set up and supervise training. DART can be used by a single individual, which allows officers to easily practice for 10-15 minutes before or after a shift. If that doesn’t sound like a lot, consider that a year’s worth of fifteen-minute drills a few times a week can equal 40 hours of additional training.
Next Steps
Whether you are an underwriter looking to mitigate law enforcement risk, an insurance pool wanting to offer training incentives to your insured departments, or a law enforcement agency interested in discounts offered by our insurance partners, we invite you to contact us for details and schedule a brief online introduction to DART.
Energy Security
Simulation training for nuclear power plants and other critical infrastructure.
Guidelines from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) state that all armed security personnel must complete firearms training to demonstrate basic skills and the safe handling of assigned firearms to include skills in these areas.
The Department of Energy has approved simulation training to be used as part of a complete training program for plant security personnel. Simulation training uses no ammunition, can occur in a small space, and allows personnel to train for various situations without leaving the building. The DART system is uniquely qualified to work as part of plant-wide security because of its small size, low cost, and versatile 3D training environment.
DART is uniquely suited to training security personnel guarding national infrastucture.
Adjustable Viewpoints
Because DART uses a flexible 3D system instead of pre-recorded video, you can change the position of the camera. This gives you the ability to accurately simulate the view from any location – such as 60 feet in the air looking down.
Ease of Use
We designed the system to be easy to use with a well-thought-out program interface and drag-and-drop course creation. Setup and calibration are quick and can be performed by a single person.
Customizable Content
As a company, we’re super-responsive to the needs of our customers. If you need content or features not already included in the DART system, we can work with you to create content to fit your specifications.
Fundamentals of Marksmanship
NRC REQUIREMENT:
Armed security personnel should participate in training on the fundamentals of marksmanship (grip, stance or position, trigger control, sight alignment, sight picture, breathing, and follow-through) to emphasize the development of shooting skills.
DART SOLUTION:
Using DART Range, personnel can be trained on the basics of marksmanship in a completely safe environment without live ammunition. The Trace function shows the actual sight alignment and muzzle movement of the weapon and is the perfect tool for teaching and evaluating sight picture, breathing, and follow-through.
Combat Firing (Day and Night)
NRC REQUIREMENT:
Armed officers should be trained in weapons practices used in combat situations such as firing on the move and double-tapping. The goal of this type of weapons training is to teach weaponry techniques to achieve a level of conditioning that provides the officer with enhanced firearms shooting skills. The training should be performed both during the night and during the day.
DART SOLUTION:
Because DART takes up very little space, it allows the trainee to move freely around the room. In addition, it can be set up virtually anywhere (hallway, stairwell, cafeteria, etc.). DART uses advanced 3D to create a simulated environment on the screen, so scenarios with variable lighting conditions can be quickly and easily created.
Safe Weapons Handling
NRC REQUIREMENT:
Training in safe weapons handling skills should be developed for each type of weapon assigned to the licensee’s armed security personnel.
DART SOLUTION:
There is no safer training environment than DART’s virtual range. Because no ammunition is needed, weapons handling skills can be practiced without fear of injury to the instructor or trainee.
Firing Under Stress
NRC REQUIREMENT:
Firearms training programs should include training exercises that induce physical and/or mental stress.
DART SOLUTION:
DART training can introduce stress in a number of ways including time limitations, physical activity before and/or during training, loud noises, and operation in limited light conditions. In addition, DART Red Fire™ combined with a SKIF sensor vest and stress band is a safe way to bring stress-based training to DART courses using different intensity modes ranging from a simple vibration to a mild or strong shock.
Target Identification, Acquisition, and Engagement
NRC REQUIREMENT:
Training in target identification and engagement should be designed to enhance the armed security officer’s ability to identify adversarial threats.
DART SOLUTION:
DART is able to move far beyond range targets by using realistic digital humans capable of a wide range of movements and actions. Using the optional DART Studio course creation package, you can create your own courses of fire which provide limitless opportunities for training situational awareness and surveillance of the operator’s horizon, identification of friend or foe and the decision to engage, target acquisition from the ready, holster, or carry position, and target engagement.
Cover and Concealment
NRC REQUIREMENT:
Armed personnel must be trained to recognize and effectively use cover and concealment. Training should include methods of approaching, moving, and shooting around various forms of cover and concealment.
DART SOLUTION:
DART Red Fire™ combined with a compatible sensor vest can record “hits” from the DART simulator if trainees are not concealed behind cover.