Police firearms range and training centre opens

The lieutenant-governor opened the new training centre on Tuesday

A new firearms range for police has been opened.

The States of Police said the Firearms Range and Tactical Training Centre at Crabbe in St Mary would enable officers to train and qualify on-island, thereby removing the need for costly travel to the UK.

Money confiscated from criminals has funded the training centre, the States of Jersey Police said, which was opened by Lieutenant-Governor Sir Jeremy Kyd.

The range could also be used by the shooting community and international competitors, the police added.

The police said the range supported qualification on both high and low-velocity weapons

Det Ch Insp Chris Beechey, director of intelligence and Channel Islands' operational support, said Jersey Police had deployed armed officers on 175 occasions during the past five years but none had discharged weapons.

He said: "When a threat does arise, it is vital that we are fully trained and prepared to respond to any situation, at any time, to protect islanders."

The range supported qualification on both high-velocity weapons such as carbines and rifles, and lower-velocity weapons such as pistols, he added.

The centre also featured a skills house which chief firearms instructor Sgt Chris Thomas called "a huge step forward".

He said: "It gives us a safe, realistic environment to train for the kinds of situations we hope we'll never face but must always be prepared for."