Some programs can be booked only once an agency secures a minimum number of participants.įor departments without the means to hire training companies the federal government offers grant programs to aid in financing classes.

But funding often comes directly from departments’ budgets. Some police officers pay for courses out of their own pockets. Enrollment fees often do not account for equipment, ammunition, or travel. In a three day course last year, instructors certified the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team to parachute from planes.Ī review of police training websites shows that courses typically cost between $300 to $1200 per head. One company, Dynamic Solutions Training Group, is pioneering a new generation of police unit with its offerings: Law Enforcement Airborne. Blue Shield Tactical Systems’ “Tactical Knife Fighting,” teaches students over two days the fundamentals of “using a knife in a deadly force encounter.” Precision Rifle Workshop’s “50 BMG for Law Enforcement Course” teaches officers how to use a military sniper rifle in “unique applications,” such as disabling vehicles. There is now a cottage industry of police consultants, which charge departments thousands of dollars to teach tactics more suited for war than civil society.Ĭlasses run the gamut of militarized policing, and are often taught by combat-tested former soldiers and SWAT officers. While the “warrior” narrative has existed in law enforcement circles for decades, it has intensified in recent years, driven by the flood of funding and surplus military equipment made available to police departments following the terror attacks on September 11, 2001.

The warrior cop