RetiredUSNChief
Member
Be careful about your assumptions on how many rounds law enforcement organizations may put through a pistol with their officers.
Here's what I found about Georgia's standards (chosen at random, because Georgia was the top of the list when I searched "law enforcement firearms proficiency standards"). Below are the requirements, without going into the actual course of fire (which is not important for this, since it's only the amount of ammo required for qualification).
Pistol qualification requires only 30 rounds. Target is SQT A-1. Scoring is 10 (inside the 10 ring), 8 (outside the 10 ring), and 0 (outside the silhouette). Minimum qualifying score of 240 out of a possible 300.
The alternate course of fire still only requires 30 rounds. Same target, same qualifying score requirements. The only difference between this and the other pistol qualification requirements is how the course of fire is set up.
These training requirements are annual. More rounds may be shot if required in order to achieve a passing score.
According to one article I read, most police departments only train about two times a year. That same article said the IACP suggested firearms training should be held three times a year.
The fact is that shooting is not cheap, whether it's your own money or a police agency's budget. And with all the other things people (and law enforcement officers are people, too) have taking up their valuable time, many give up shooting time in favor of time for other activities they also consider important.
So, unless an officer is in a job which routinely involves shooting his issued firearm (training, competition, etc.), then the reality is the average LEO carry weapon isn't likely to see all that many rounds pass through its barrel each year.
Now, there is some merit to looking at an organization as a whole which may be issued several hundred sidearms and seeing how they perform this way. But honestly, we don't see much in terms of actual statistics which mean anything to us. How many here know of any way to get the firearms statistics for an entire police department to see how many firearms they have, the makes/models, types of ammunition put through them, amount of ammunition run through each, problems/repair issues, etc.? At best, all I ever see is some article somewhere which says such-and-such a police department switched to a particular firearm, or maybe they switched AWAY from a particular firearm for some reason with no statistical details as to why.
Galefi.org - Current Georgia Qualification Courses
Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (gapost.org)
Police firearms training: How often should you be shooting? | PoliceOne.com (police1.com)
Here's what I found about Georgia's standards (chosen at random, because Georgia was the top of the list when I searched "law enforcement firearms proficiency standards"). Below are the requirements, without going into the actual course of fire (which is not important for this, since it's only the amount of ammo required for qualification).
Pistol qualification requires only 30 rounds. Target is SQT A-1. Scoring is 10 (inside the 10 ring), 8 (outside the 10 ring), and 0 (outside the silhouette). Minimum qualifying score of 240 out of a possible 300.
The alternate course of fire still only requires 30 rounds. Same target, same qualifying score requirements. The only difference between this and the other pistol qualification requirements is how the course of fire is set up.
These training requirements are annual. More rounds may be shot if required in order to achieve a passing score.
According to one article I read, most police departments only train about two times a year. That same article said the IACP suggested firearms training should be held three times a year.
The fact is that shooting is not cheap, whether it's your own money or a police agency's budget. And with all the other things people (and law enforcement officers are people, too) have taking up their valuable time, many give up shooting time in favor of time for other activities they also consider important.
So, unless an officer is in a job which routinely involves shooting his issued firearm (training, competition, etc.), then the reality is the average LEO carry weapon isn't likely to see all that many rounds pass through its barrel each year.
Now, there is some merit to looking at an organization as a whole which may be issued several hundred sidearms and seeing how they perform this way. But honestly, we don't see much in terms of actual statistics which mean anything to us. How many here know of any way to get the firearms statistics for an entire police department to see how many firearms they have, the makes/models, types of ammunition put through them, amount of ammunition run through each, problems/repair issues, etc.? At best, all I ever see is some article somewhere which says such-and-such a police department switched to a particular firearm, or maybe they switched AWAY from a particular firearm for some reason with no statistical details as to why.
Galefi.org - Current Georgia Qualification Courses
Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (gapost.org)
Police firearms training: How often should you be shooting? | PoliceOne.com (police1.com)