64
NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JULY 2014
Qualifying vs. Training
Jan Wright
As active and retired police officers, we have
been qualifying with firearms our entire careers.
If an officer has completed 25 years of service,
he or she will have qualified 50 times. But it
needs to be noted that there is a big difference
between the mandatory qualification and actual training. Even the Attorney General’s guidelines
regarding
Mandatory
Firearms
Qualifications note the difference between
qualifications and training:
“These procedures do not prevent individual
agencies from conducting additional in-service firearms training. Agencies are encouraged to conduct supplemental training to meet the special needs of their personnel.”
I have heard of many departments that do their semi-annual qualification, but no other shooting or firearms training. In
my opinion, that’s like a young driver going to the DMV and
taking the initial driving test, and instead of spending many
hours practicing and experiencing what it’s actually like to
drive a car in various conditions, returning twice a year to
retake the same driver’s
test to prove that they
are proficient at driving.
Products, Services, Classes and Seminars for On The Job After you successfully
TRAINING STATION
pass, you have met the minimum standard, and that’s all. Without practice or training, you wouldn’t become proficient or
learn how to handle situations involving high stress levels.
With a little bit of imagination, firearms instructors can
develop excellent training programs outside of qualifications:
First, there is the concept of moving while shooting. Except
for the Handgun Night Qualification Course (HNQC), there is