Range closure jeopardizes officers’ target practice

Rifle proficiency requires ‘trigger time,’ head of Calgary Police Association says

A shortage of space for officers to hone their rifle skills is a concern to the president of the police association.

As highlighted in a recent Calgary Police Service quarterly report, the recent closure of a CPS outdoor firearms range has forced police to perform long-rifle qualification at a government range outside of Lethbridge.

That’s troubling to Calgary Police Association president Les Kaminski, who said officers rely on regular target practice to keep their skills in top condition.

“The more time you get behind the trigger, the better you’ll be,” he said.

“With how perishable that craft is, you have to get trigger time.”

Calgary police own a number of indoor ranges and shoot houses used primarily to refine their skills and perform firearms qualification testing.

The amount of long-distance range space needed for policeissue Colt C8A2 carbines, however, is limited.

While in common use among members of the CPS tactical unit, deployment of the expensive semiautomatic rifles among patrol officers is limited.

A 40-hour training course is required before officers can qualify to use and carry the rifles.

“A well-trained officer behind a C8 is very surgical … it’s careful,” Kaminski said, describing the rifle as a safer and more accurate firearm than handguns which, unlike rifles, are carried by police largely as a means of defence.

Maintained by the Department of National Defence, the Kipp Rifle Range is an outdoor 200-metre shooting area used by police and the military.

With no local alternative available, the police business report says the CPS is in the process of securing a three-year usage agreement at the range to stabilize the service’s rifle program.

While the long commute represents a drain on both manpower and costs, Kaminski said officer proficiency is the main concern.

“It’s really a matter of convenience,” he said.

“We have been travelling to other rifle ranges and working around it but, of course, we’d rather have our own facility — but you do what you have to do.”

The more time you get behind the trigger, the better you’ll be … A well-trained officer behind a C8 is very surgical.