By Torilynn Qualls |Staff Writer|
CSUSB police have purchased an active-shooter simulator with funds donated by the University’s Associated Students Incorporated (ASI).
The $40,000 simulator was purchased in response to the Dec. 2012 campus shooting, the simulator is a computer software that is projected onto a wall-sized screen.
The simulator has the ability to allow six officers to be involved in a single simulation at one time. There are six different simulations programmed into the software.
Student Marcus Vega said, “The simulator seems comparable to the Call of Duty video game series, but I can see how officers get real-life training because the ‘bad guys’ in their program react just as they would in real life.”
The simulator copies real life scenarios that the on-campus officers need to be trained and prepared.
Several different weapons, from hand guns to pepper spray, can be simulated in each scenario, and It is up to the officer to choose which weapon should be used.
The program is designed to teach officers when to fire and when no to fire.
CSUSB Police Chief Jimmie Brown told the Daily Bulletin, “I want the community to know our officers are trained to handle certain situations.”
Student Mary Murillo said, “It makes me feel more comfortable at school knowing that the on-campus police department has taken these extra training measures to ensure student safety at school.”
The simulator is manufactured by Ti Training which specializes in custom shooting simulators.
Ti Training also offers a “training room” program within the simulator.
The “training room” is an interactive classroom which “enables the instructor to interact with a group of students and solicit real time feedback through the keypad interface,” according to the Ti Training’s website.
The keypads, similar to the “clickers” used in some University classrooms, allow the officers to submit answers by remote control.
Another form of the active-shooter simulator is also being used at The Artemis Defense Institute, in Lake Forest, which the Institute claims, “is the only virtual defense facility in Southern California”
According to The Sun, The Artemis Defense Institute has trained, “21 police and sheriff’s departments in Southern California.”
The public can try out the simulator at the Artemis Defense Institute for a $50 fee.
According to the Daily Bulletin, University police already hold active-shooter training using Airsoft guns around campus.
“Having the simulator will make officers even more prepared for a real shooting,” said Brown.
Brown told the Daily Bulletin that he plans to make the simulator available for other small law enforcement agencies in the San Bernardino area, which would include community colleges, other universities, and school police for kindergarten through high school.
CSUSB police have taken extra effort by training their officers using this shooter simulator software with the hope of keeping our campus and the rest of the San Bernardino community safe. Campus CSUSB police did comment for this article.
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