INDIANAPOLIS — We're getting a first look at a new place for Indianapolis police officers to train.
They've opened a scenario-based training village named "Hershyville."
For IMPD, it's about "practice, practice, practice," they said.
They're taking recruits through real-world scenarios in a setting designed to replicate a neighborhood, complete with homes and businesses.
There are 25 structures throughout, all different sizes, all different layouts.
Recruits will see a variety of situations with role-playing training officers. The training is based on the types of calls IMPD officers get every day.
"Scenarios range from domestics to disturbances, suspicious person runs, mental health scenarios, scenarios involving substance abuse and so much more," said Kevin Hershberger, an IMPD field training officer.
In some of the training, recruits will learn how to de-escalate a situation. If an officer does have to pull out their firearm, the scenario will end with the suspect complying. IMPD said the training is about communication.
"Everything they're encountering is, 'How do I de-escalate this? At what point is it not de-escalating and do I need to step in and go hands on?' But we exhaust all the other measures first, before they have to get to that point," Hershberger said.
What won't be used in this training are firearms.
"This is designed and it is built to teach our officers how to respond and how to use their communication skills, how to critically think, how to problem solve, how to take a step back," IMPD Deputy Chief Catherine Cummings said.
Throughout each scenario, training officers will be providing coaching.
"They can stop the scenario in the middle," Hershberger said. "They can ask questions, give guidance, re-position them or talk about body language."
IMPD calls it modern training, preparing recruits in a way that classroom instruction can't.
The village is still under construction, set for completion next spring, but IMPD said their latest recruit class is already using it. The $200,000 cost of building the village came from donations.
"I know the training that's going to go on in this village is going to save lives," Cummings said.