Different LEAs, different needs
I shoot quite often at an indoor range that is used by Government Agencies, local PDs, Armored Truck companies and Guard companies for training and firearm qualification. I’ve noticed several things that seem to hold true for all these groups.
The first is that the quality of the shooter is directly related to the need for that ability.
The seriousness (quality) of the instructor is directly related to the abilities of his shooters.
What the groups “train for†determines their perceived abilities.
There are good shooters in all of these groups, but very few of these groups have all or mostly good shooters.
The best groups of shooters are in the Government Agencies. I don’t believe I’m supposed to know what the “best†group does. So I won’t say, but were they shooting in public, they would be shooting in high-density areas where a miss could be VERY problematic. These people shoot very well! I saw one instructor, drawing, shooting into a 3x5 card at 25 yards, and holstering. He repeated the process, over and over like a machine. Not all shots hit the card, but all that didn't were close, I was very impressed.
Below the Government Agencies are the local PDs. The problem with the local PDs is one of perception. For the most part, they practice and qualify in close, where in real life they live or die. As a shooter, respect on the range is earned with accuracy at distance. Police are not shooting for respect they are shooting to survive. I would bet that a good range shooter would die quicker in a gunfight, then the average shooting LEO. After all, that’s what they are really training for. I have noticed the LEOs ability seems to inversely proportional to their proximity to the city. Military service seems to be a positive indicator of shooting ability in police, even if they hadn’t shot handguns in the service. I shoot club combat shoots with some people I know to be local police, and some of them are good shooters.
The Armor Truck companies and the Guard companies, I’ve seen, don’t seem to need to be shooters at all. So I won’t go further here. I guess the gun being there is more important then ability. I’m sure, although I haven’t seen any, some of these people must be very good. But I don't think company training had anything to do with it.
Respectfully
jkelly