Moore Norman Technology Center

PROJECT PURPOSE

Law enforcement officers are in high demand due to the impact of COVID, subsequent early retirements, and the Cleveland County 15.6% population growth. Local law enforcement agencies asked Moore Norman Technology Center to build a law enforcement driver training (LEDT) track and indoor firing range to train aspiring law enforcement officers, agency new hires, and to provide continuing education requirements for current officers. MNTC began creation of a public safety training complex in December 2020 with the acquisition of 110 acres of land. An adjacent 50-acre parcel was purchased in February 2022. In March 2022, in a partnership with Cleveland County, MNTC began the second phase of the public safety project, with groundbreaking for the LEDT and City Course, a group of buildings simulating a mixed-use city environment for force-on-force, de-escalation, and report writing simulation training. Phase three ? the focus of this grant application ? is the construction of an indoor firing range. Phase four will provide training rooms, a gym, and locker rooms while phase five focuses on fire training structures. The benefits of these training facilities are effective recruitment and retention of officers, more highly skilled officers, and even stronger law enforcement agencies in Central Oklahoma resulting in safer communities.

EVIDENCE

No comparable facilities are available for law enforcement training located within the service area. A recent study, ?Re-Envisioning Police Training in the U.S.: Rejecting the Status Quo, Speeding the Pace of Progress Toward a True 21st Century Model,? highlighted facility quality. ?Facility quality, advisors commented, ranges from newer facilities with excellent technology integration to older buildings no longer appropriate for use?. Training facilities are vital for maximizing officer learning capacity. Further, sub-par facilities not only hurt training capacity, but they also make clear that the agency and its governing body do not value training as they should.? (https://www.theiacp.org/news/blog-post/police-training-needs-urgent-reforms-new-report-from-american-university-reveals, October 21, 2021)

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Examples of vulnerable people are those struggling with homelessness, addiction, and mental illness with communities of color experiencing increased hardship during the pandemic. Some person struggle with more than one of these. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, ?The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession have negatively affected many people?s mental health and created new barriers for people already suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders. During the pandemic, about 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, a share that has been largely consistent, up from one in ten adults who reported these symptoms from January to June 2019.? From <https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substanceuse/> The conclusions from the International Chiefs of Police to support officers who serve these populations are: ?Effective response and safety are achieved only through proper training and education. The individuals who are tasked with safeguarding the public must be provided with sufficient resources and the necessary tools for an appropriate response to all community members. From https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/Police_Chief_July2019.pdf, p. 44. The continuing education opportunities MNTC offers train officers in the best practices in supporting vulnerable populations and connecting them with the right services to address their needs.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

MNTC measures success on two levels: program success and range project success. Moore Norman Technology Center has implemented a quality system that is a blend of ISO 9001: 2015 and the Baldrige Excellence Framework. Within this quality system, we have a strategic plan that outlines Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with targets. Within this quality system, we also have control methods to consistently monitor our programs for efficacy, quality, and success through internal audits and data monitoring. If a non-conformance is found, the Action Request system is activated to identify the root cause and implement corrective action.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma