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| By Lori O'Brien Correspondent CHICOPEE The Chicopee Police Department has a new tool for fighting crime CAPS. Thanks to a $32,000 grant from the United States Department of Justice, police officers will soon begin training with a live-fire judgment system developed by the Canadian Academy of Practical Shooting (CAPS). The live-fire training features 570 real-world experiences that tests officers' judgment and reaction time using their own firearm and 40-caliber ammunition that they carry on the street every day. During a recent simulator demonstration for Reminder Publications, Detective Chris Kellam ran through a series of scenarios to demonstrate how CAPS works. "This is a great tool for us," said Kellam, emphasizing that the CAPS system will provide the city's officers with a no-nonsense approach on handling a variety of situations that they could face on any given day. Kellam added that Chicopee is the only community in Western Massachusetts to have such a sophisticated live-fire ammunition system. Kellam explained that the grant was actually eight years in the making since it was then Detective Ken Frisbee who first spearheaded the effort for the department to acquire the system. When Det. Frisbee retired, Kellam took up the challenge to acquire CAPS for Chicopee, and also credits Lt. Daniel Sullivan for his grant writing expertise and support from Police Chief John R. Ferraro, Jr. In addition to Kellam, Officer Ted Hitchcock and Lt. Mark Higgins have been trained as instructors and expect to start working with police officers in September. CAPS scenarios are shot with the Steadicam® camera stabilization system that draws the officer into stressful situations in a way that cannot be duplicated. "The scenarios make it more interesting and realistic for the officers," said Kellam. In addition, the actors and the students are able to interact verbally and the actors are armed with blank-firing guns or other weapons, while the trainees respond accordingly with all levels of force including live ammunition from their duty weapons. Other features of CAPS includes instructors being able to review reaction time and shot placement with officers as well as replay the judgment call for analysis. Following the demonstration, Kellam added that the police officers will be tested on 10 to 15 scenarios every six months to keep their verbalization and shooting skills in top form. "Not all scenarios are shoot scenarios," said Kellam, adding that CAPS helps officers with verbalization skills since they have to communicate and talk to people on a daily basis in a variety of different situations. |