designated marksman unit

[sschultz]

Hello
I am new to sniper's hide( but have been a lurker). I work for a metro area police department and have been approached with finding info on starting a DM unit with our department. Does anyone know of a department that has a DM unit that I could contact for information. If this is not the right area for this I apologize.
schultz

 

[kraigWY]

Re: designated marksman unit

Contact the US Army Marksmanship Unit at the Benning School for Boys.

 

[Maggot]

Re: designated marksman unit

Welcome to the Hide.

 

[VJJPunisher]

Re: designated marksman unit

"designated marksman unit" ? Don't they already have that but call it special weapons and tactics or have I been smoking grandma's peace pipe too long tonight?

 

[sschultz]

Re: designated marksman unit

We do have a ERT team. But we want to be able to handle a situation if need be before the swat team could be called in. For example an active shooter.
The idea was to have a number of officers on each shift that be DM trained.
Schultz

 

[kraigWY]

Re: designated marksman unit

You might also consider the NRA, they have or had, a LE Rifle Instructors course, I attended it in the late 80s.

You might also contact Sterling Shooter, a poster here, He does DMR training for the Army and CMP. He could probably fill you in on the program.

 

[Slapchop]

Re: designated marksman unit

Where do you work? On second thought don't answer that. Can't you reach out to any of the surrounding agencies in your area that already have an established unit?

How about your State Police, I'm sure that they'd be able to lead you in the right direction.

 

[jb7032]

Re: designated marksman unit

What do they mean by "designated marksman unit"? What would be the mission of said unit? Just tryin to figure out if your idea of a "designated marksman" is the same as the folks on the hide. Some common lingo used around law enforcement is "sniper" or "markman/observer".

Wouldn't having a unit with only designated marksman be like having a baseball team with only designated hitters?

There used to be a magazine called Police Marksman, which is no longer in print. There are a few articles available <span style="color: #FF0000">here</span>.
The NRA <span style="color: #FF0000">Law Enforcement division</span> is a great place to look also. There are too many private training firms to list here. Plus this site is a good source of info.
My advice is to get info and training from multiple sources.

Welcome to the hide btw,

 

[jb7032]

Re: designated marksman unit

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: schultz</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> We do have a ERT team. But we want to be able to handle a situation if need be before the swat team could be called in. For example an active shooter.
The idea was to have a number of officers on each shift that be DM trained.
Schultz </div></div>
Do you have/authorize patrol rifles? Are all your officers trained in Active Shooter response? Is your patrol area primarily urban or rural or a combination? What kind of accuracy/distances and weapons are you envisioning these DM trained officers to be shooting? There's lots of questions to ask you, before many here could give an honest answer. I'm by no means trying to be an A-Hole and i'm no expert. Just tryin to provoke thought. This is actually an interesting concept to me. I'm anxious to see others' opinions on a "Police Designated Marksman" assuming its not a "sniper" but sorta the same thing as a DM in the military.

 

[GreyShirts]

Re: designated marksman unit

I think the better term is "patrol rifle program", at least that's what they call ours. I will send u a pm. Our program, has a certain amount of rifles (AR) on each shift in each division. Call it what you want "DM" or "Patrol Rifle Program", it's the same thing. On our department the TACT Team is the only unit that can carry a rifle with a magnification device greater than x1.

 

[jbgleason]

Re: designated marksman unit

Gents,

What he is referring to as a "DM" program is the same concept as why the military went to a DM program at the platoon level. In the MIL world, a DM is the guy who is on patrol with the platoon and is a bridge between an infantryman and a sniper. In the LE world, a DM is the bridge between a patrol officer and SWAT. The way it is meant to work is that the DM officers are regular patrol guys who receive extra training and carry a magnified optic rifle on regular patrol. Not a patrol rifle but an actual precision rifle. The theory is that they will be first on scene to critical incidents and can establish perimeter and, when appropriate, intervene in a situation by taking a shot prior to the arrival of SWAT. It makes sense if you think about it.

TO THE OP, check with San Francisco P.D. They have had such a program established department wide for several years now.

 

[sschultz]

Re: designated marksman unit

Jb that is exactly what I am looking at. We are in the process of getting rid of the MP-5 and going to a AR platform. But that does not mean the average patrol person could be called on to make a precision shot. I would take at least 1/2 hour to 45 min to get a part of our ERT team on scene.
We are an urban department with some unique issues. Some very long distance that we would have to deal with. We also have large groups of people that we have to deal with.
Schultz