A NEW police firearms training facility opened yesterday, enabling officers to train and qualify on-island to national standards.
Officially opened by the Lieutenant Governor Vice Admiral Sir Jeremy Kyd, the Firearms Range and Tactical Training Centre is situated at Crabbe.
The facility has been funded by money confiscated from criminals, according to the force.
The police said the new range meets the requirements of the UK College of Policing firearms curriculum standards, which are recognised as best practice for firearms training.
With a training facility on Jersey, the police said it removes the need “for costly and disruptive travel to the UK”.
As well as a firing range, the facilility includes a purpose-built ‘skills house’, offering a “safe and realistic environment” to practice tactics.
The space will be shared with the wider shooting community and be able to competitors, the police confirmed, and has the potential of being available to overseas police forces.
Announcing the opening, DCI Chris Beechey, director of intelligence and CI operational support, said it is “vital” officers are fully prepared to respond to “any situation”.
“In the past five years, States of Jersey Police has deployed armed officers on 175 occasions,” he said. Importantly, in that time, no weapons have been discharged. When a threat does arise, it is vital that we are fully trained and prepared to respond to any situation, at any time, to protect Islanders,” he said.
DCI Beechey continued that while Jersey remains a “safe place”, it is “nevertheless essential that officers maintain operational competence to respond at the highest level when called upon”.
Sergeant Chris Thomas, SOJP chief firearms instructor, added that the facility is “a huge step forward”.
“It gives us a safe, realistic environment to train for the kinds of situations we hope we’ll never face but must always be prepared for,” he said.
