Las Vegas, NV (KXNT) - Ground was broken Thursday morning for a new training center that will change the way the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and other first responders prepare and train.
The Joint Emergency Training Institute (JETI) will have two facilities built on 200 acres of land on 7600 East Carey Avenue. The privately funded regional training facility will house agencies throughout Nevada where they will work and train together in a cutting-edge facility that could rival what exists in other parts of the country.
“During the 1 October event, lives were saved that day because we trained with other first responders for events that were similar in nature,” said LVMPD Sheriff Joe Lombardo. “We are always stronger when we work together, and this new facility promises to bring us to a new level and even offer training to law enforcement agencies throughout the country.”
JETI will become the permanent home to LVMPD’s MACTAC team, which stands for Multi- Assault, Counter Terrorism Action Capabilities.
The training institute’s first building will house four 60-person classrooms, large-mat rooms for defensive tactic training and office spaces that will allow 80 agencies to work side-by-side. The 46,000 square-foot building will also have a reality-based training room that will apply cutting- edge interactive videos to teach officers de-escalation techniques. Officers will be able to speak to the characters on screen and get responses from the subjects and run through an endless number of scenarios to hone their abilities.
The second building will house a 75,000 square-foot indoor village with fully furnished houses, gas stations, schools and businesses so that multiple agencies can train together in real-time realistic scenarios to improve their response on dynamic incidents and save lives.
The training institute promises to expand beyond Nevada. There are many agencies who don’t have access to high-end training for their officers. Some small towns do not have access to academies that offer best practices in policing. Officers who aren’t given strong tactics and training have a greater chance of having negative outcomes when interacting with citizens.
Construction of both facilities is expected to be completed in 14 months. The facility sits just below LVMPD firearms training facility. Future plans are in the works to raise funds to include a track for emergency vehicles to conduct training.