Preparing for the Future

We live in perilous, crisis-filled times. My generation had its share of problems, to be sure, but the immensity of what faces the current generation and the generations of tomorrow, demands we prepare our first responders with the best training possible. One of the ways we do that is to provide them with realistic academic courses and the ability to put what they’ve learned in the classroom into practical application. I’m aware of many facilities in our own nation that have cutting-edge technology to prepare public safety personnel for most emergency situations. The FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, the DEA Academy, also in Quantico, and, most recently, the College of DuPage, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, all provide the latest and greatest training for present and future law enforcement (LE).

In many instances, colleges have undertaken the task of training those who intend to make a career in LE. The fact that one can get a degree in criminal justice/public safety is important for many reasons, not the least of which is that the individual receives a thorough understanding of what they are about to embark upon. The aforementioned training sites all have facilities that allow trainees to put their training to the test in simulated environments that closely replicate what they might face in the real world. The ability to have immersion-type training is invaluable. It allows the student and the instructor to make an informed decision regarding the student’s viability as a future first responder.

I recently toured a state of the art facility, La Cite collegiale, in Ottawa, Ontario. Our friends up north in Canada have not been sitting idly by as events of the world have unfolded in recent years. Like us, they recognize that LE training must evolve with the times, not simply be reactive, but training must anticipate future needs. According to the Canadian Occupational Projection System, by the year 2018, Canada will face the following shortages:

• 4,000 police officers and firefighters
• 4,000 security professionals
• 12,000 technical healthcare workers (including paramedics)

To address the projected shortfalls, La Cite collegiale (LCC) developed The 911 Institute. The LCC is the largest French language applied arts and technology college in Ontario. By consolidating emergency, protective, and security services training programs under one roof, The 911 Institute is capable of training more than 700 students per year.

I sat down with Professor Paul St-Onge, Chief Training Facilitator, Police Foundations Program, to discuss the impact of his brand new facility. Paul is a dynamic sincere administrator with a constant smile and welcoming demeanor. He’s proud of what he’s accomplished in putting together a stellar program few schools can compete with. His energy is infectious as he explains the various partnerships with community groups and government agencies that are already in place or about to be, and which will benefit both the school and the country.

Paul gave me a thumbnail sketch of the building and its academic programs, and then led me on a tour of his underground facility, which is comprised of two massive basements that allow for the following training:

• A police station with lockup, interrogation rooms, offices and dispatch
• A fire station
• A paramedic station
• Two training labs with ambulance modules for paramedics
• A lab equipped with high fidelity simulation mannequins
• Underground garage that allows vehicles to be brought in (fire trucks, ambulances, police cars)
• Two-story apartment for simulation for police, paramedics
• Firefighter training structure with configurable maze

All of the above training venues are equipped with mics and cameras so that every training evolution can be recorded and reviewed. Radio communications are real-time, and there are computer tablets available in vehicles and on-site locations so that there isn’t an inch of the training complex where movement cannot be documented audio and visually. And, training can be conducted in total darkness, an element of training which is rarely addressed at most facilities.