Any of your depts. have or have access to a simulator? If so, what do you think about the experience? I have had the opportunity to use one recently and was wondering what other people thought as well.

Stay safe.

We have used the Range 2000 system.  Most everyone likes it.  The biggest problem we have had with it is we have not been able to use the computer to score hits.  For what ever reason the timing seems to be off and it will score direct hits as a miss.  Other than that, everybody likes it.

The county range we use to qualify has a FATS system - i believe they recently upgraded to version 4 or 5.  I think it is a lot of fun, and very useful.

But mostly fun.

Dave

We use the Prisim System in a large Sheriff's office in south Florida. We pretty much have all the bells and whistles including the laser flashlight (I can adjust the available light on all the scenarios) Pepper spray, and the best part is the shootback cannon. It is laser aimed and select fire. We have four different weapons. They "shoot" Airmunitions and function as any normal autoloader does. It's a great training tool. It's fun to run non law enforcement press folks through the simulator, sort of changes their outlook on life.

I have been a trainer and trainee on the Prisim System.  I really liked it.  I think the interface from the instructor side was pretty simple and self-explanatory.  I did not have the opportunity to utilize all of the functions (creating new and original scenarios), but the packaged scenarios are pretty universal.

From the trainee side, any system will only be as useful as the seriousness with which it is approached.  Luckily, most of the people I worked with were able to get past the "video game" mentality that people seem to have at the onset of this type of training.  Overall I think any training is good as long as it is done well.  I think the structured format available in simulator systems helps to keep the training on track.  

It is, of course, not a substitute for range time, but used in addition to range time it helps maintain weapon proficiency as well as improves people's ability to think on their feet.

I too used the flashlight and Airmunitions in the system.  The shootback cannon is a useful training tool.  Between the cannon and the camera attached to it, the instructor is able to better "convince" a trainee that the cover s/he thought he was behind was not being used all that effectively.  I have seen some instructors go overboard on the cannon and shoot anything that moved.  In my opinion, the cannon is best used when it is synced to the scenario (ie. when the suspect shoots, the cannon shoots).

The department I used to work with would run citizen academys through the sim and also periodically would run media through.  Tigerdvr was right, it sort of sheds a whole new light on confrontations for people who may have never been exposed before.

WT

   We used the FATS system, it was pretty cool. The hardest part was that one of the local prosecutors sat in with each officer, and grilled us every time we made a fatal shoot good or bad. On my first shoot, he had me more or less confess to homicide, even thou it was a Justified use of force.  

FATS, one of the females in our group kept jerking the trigger, thus dropping the muzzle due to lighter recoil and scoring crotch shots on screen. I think it also revealed a lot about her personality...