(Reporter Newspapers-Atlanta) Bob Pepalis - After two weeks of training in Israel in November, Sandy Springs Police Capt. Norman Vik wants to use what he learned to improve his department. Vik was part of a 16-member delegation of senior law enforcement officials from Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Colorado in the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange's (GILEE) 28th annual peer-to-peer executive training program in partnership with the Israel Police. He had classes with Israel's unexploded ordnance teams and learned that they guarantee to be on scene in 15 minutes. Israel has a national academy for police training, which ensures that all officers receive the same training specific to their positions. Vik wants to bring in operational readiness training like he saw in Israel. Annually every officer must participate in training that includes physical activity, defensive tactics and firearms. On a trip to a town close to Gaza, he said, "You couldn't tell by driving through the city. People are out walking the streets, children are playing, and it was like day-to-day business going on....You don't notice it right away until somebody actually pointed out that every structure - playgrounds, bus stops - have a bomb shelter setup."
2022-01-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive