Building Shooters Technology LLC recently announced that the Collin College Public Safety Training Center adopted de-escalation-oriented firearms training. This is a first in Texas for colleges.
According to Building Shooters, which procured BST's proprietary NURO System, Collin College's program represents a pioneering approach in Texas law enforcement. It distinguishes itself by integrating visual stimuli into the curriculum, which plays a pivotal role in guiding officer decision-making and promoting de-escalation strategies in response to subject behavior.
The National Institute of Justice explained that programs such as these train law enforcement officers to de-escalate and defuse situations involving individuals who may be experiencing a mental health crisis or other incident.
"These new tools allow us to vary the possibilities of the target being a threat or no-threat and even change it during the exposure from a threat to sudden no threat," said Collin College Range Master LeRoy Fuentes. "We are already seeing improvements in visuomotor skills performance and expect improved outcomes with regards to decision-making, de-escalation, and mistake-of-fact shootings."
The training model was originally evaluated and introduced by New York State's Division of Criminal Justice Services. In 2022, it received approval from the New York Municipal Police Training Council and is currently in use by the Syracuse Police Department. New York aims to implement this method throughout the state, with a projected completion date of Sept. 1, 2024.
"It cannot be overstated how big of a deal this is," said Justin Smith, a data science leader and neuroscience Ph.D. whose research focus is the molecular processes for decision-making and stress. "Using visual stimulus to control range training develops firearms skills that are different, at a synaptic level, than anything we have seen before in law enforcement. The advancement in de-escalation capability for new officers is truly ground-breaking."
