The Barton Community College service area will be a safer place thanks to a new tool employed by the college’s criminal justice program, a Use-of-Force Simulator. The simulator puts officers in extreme situations and forces them to make split-second decisions on what type of force to apply in a given situation.
More than 400 scenarios come pre-programmed with the equipment, but Barton faculty have the option of filming and creating their own scenarios. The equipment was purchased with the help of donations from the Lee Turner Endowment through the Barton Foundation, the Rush County Attorney’s office, Rush County Sheriff’s Dept., Russell County Attorney’s Office, Russell County Sheriff’s Dept., City of Great Bend, Barton County Attorney’s Office, Ellinwood Police Dept., City of Hoisington, Pawnee County Attorney’s Office and P&S Security.
Barton will use the technology to train its students, but it will also be available for local police departments and sheriff’s offices for continuing education opportunities.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Barton Criminal Justice Department celebrated the acquisition of the simulator by inviting a handful of donors to the college for a demo of the technology they helped to purchase.