Compliance of "Courses and Instructions on fire training" with the conditions of use of weapons by employees of security and convoy units of the police

Sinitsyn Evgeniy Igorevich Lecturer at the Firearms Training Department of Tyumen Professional Training Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 625049, Russia, Tyumenskaya oblast', g. Tyumen', ul. Amurskaya, 75 evgeniy.sinitsyn.2019@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The increase in the number of cases of attacks on police officers performing security and convoy functions^[1] determines the need to increase their level of fire preparedness, which should be assessed not only by hitting the target with the required number of shots and observing the time interval of the exercise performed, but also by the ability to apply the theoretical knowledge and skills gained in solving practical situations - to promptly assess the legality of their actions. actions related to the use of weapons, correctly and in compliance with security measures, perform technical actions with weapons, as well as tactically correctly determine the methods of action with weapons and the order of interaction between the composition of the service outfit ^[15].

To determine whether the exercises of the Shooting Courses and Fire training Manuals correspond to the conditions of use of weapons by employees of security and convoy police units, we conducted a retrospective analysis of regulatory legal documents - Shooting courses and Fire training Manuals from 1992 to the present.

The object of the study is the fire training of employees of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation.

The subject of the study is regulatory legal documents regulating the organization of fire training in the internal affairs bodies.

The hypothesis of the study is the analysis of regulatory legal documents regulating the organization of fire training in the internal affairs bodies, which will determine the physical conditions for the use of firearms, contributing to an increase in the fire readiness of employees of security and convoy police units ^[7].

The purpose of the study: based on the results of a retrospective analysis of shooting courses and Fire training Manuals, to determine practice-oriented technical actions with weapons necessary for the development of standards and special shooting exercises for employees of security and convoy police units.

Research objectives:

1. To determine the criteria (physical conditions) for the orientation of exercises of shooting Courses and Fire training Manuals on the practice of using firearms by employees of security and convoy police units;

2. Identify technical actions with weapons that ensure the necessary level of preparedness of employees of security and convoy police units for the lawful use of weapons ^[10];

3. To give a theoretical assessment of the practical orientation of small arms shooting exercises for employees of security and convoy police units.

The scientific novelty of the study lies in determining the practice-oriented conditions of shooting exercises that contribute to improving the fire readiness of employees of security and convoy police units.

The main results of the study are:

- determination of criteria (physical conditions) for the orientation of exercises of shooting courses and Fire training Manuals on the practice of using weapons by employees of security and convoy police units;

- the study of technical actions with weapons that ensure the necessary level of preparedness of employees of security and convoy police units for the lawful use of weapons ^[4].

One of the key conclusions that the author comes to is that when developing regulatory legal documents related to the organization of fire training in the Department of Internal Affairs, the practice of using firearms by employees of security and convoy police units, as well as the specifics and conditions of official and professional activity, was not sufficiently taken into account. The process of fire training is insufficiently practice-oriented for the studied category of employees, since shooting exercises do not form those skills and abilities that can be useful in real situations involving the possible use of firearms ^[5].

In place of the invalid Shooting Courses and Instructions, new ones were approved, which, in terms of the content of technical actions with firearms and in the order of their execution, differed little from previous editions of these Instructions. That is why the development and implementation of effective pedagogical technologies in the educational process related to the training of employees of security and convoy police units for the lawful use of firearms in situations of professional activity is an urgent task that requires a phased solution.

Methods

The following general scientific methods were used to solve the research tasks: description, comparison, generalization, classification. Empirical data were systematized on the basis of mathematical statistics methods and presented using a graphical data analysis method.

In this study, a retrospective analysis of regulatory legal documents was carried out – Shooting courses and Fire training Manuals from 1992 to the present^[2].

The author's research was mainly aimed at studying and improving the process of fire training of employees of security and convoy police units, as a separate category of employees of combatant police units performing specific tasks for the maintenance, protection and escort of a special contingent ^[6]. This explains the need to bring into line the regulatory support for the organization of fire training in the Department of Internal Affairs and the requirements for employees of the studied category to the necessary result - the development of pedagogical technology, which includes a system of practice–oriented exercises that simulate situations of lawful use of firearms ^[5].

Results

The editions of Shooting Courses and Fire Training Manuals under consideration contain shooting exercises from various types of weapons. These exercises were developed without taking into account the nature of the professional activities of police officers and, at best, determined the frequency of training shooting with personnel according to the principle: those who perform official duties with firearms are involved in shooting at least once every two weeks, the rest of the staff – at least once a month ^[11]. A similar provision is contained in the current edition of the Manual on Fire training.

In the course of the study, we analyzed shooting exercises that were used in various periods of time during the fire training of employees of security and convoy units of the police. For this purpose, the shooting exercise conditions were grouped into the following categories: 1. Shooting position. 2. The method of holding the weapon. 3. The method of firing. 4. Visibility of the target. 5. Confounding factors. At the same time, each category included a list of physical conditions – technical actions with firearms (Table 1).

For each condition of the shooting exercises intended for the training of employees of the security and convoy units of the police, the total number of exercises in which these conditions are contained was calculated. Then, the obtained average values were converted to a percentage.

Table 1. Physical conditions of use of firearms

As a result, conditions were identified that are more often contained in small arms training exercises: shooting from a standing position; with two hands; using sighting devices; at a fixed target; day or night (the average% of the presence of these conditions in the exercises is more than 80%). Accordingly, most of the exercises duplicate the same conditions, which are aimed primarily at mastering the technique of firing a shot (a series of shots), and not at improving the skills and abilities of the lawful use of firearms in various conditions (Figure 1).

For clarity, we have formulated the name of the exercise, which places an obvious emphasis on the designated conditions for CS and NOP: "High-speed shooting from the spot at a fixed target." As part of basic fire training, such an exercise should be an integral part of the professional training of all categories of employees, since it includes the basic elements of shooting techniques, the success of mastering which will determine the possibility of further improvement and mastery of more complex technical actions with firearms by employees. However, given that the number of conditions in shooting exercises is proportional to the amount of time spent on training employees in these conditions, it can be assumed that within the framework of vocational training programs, the allotted hours of training time may not be enough to bring other, more practice-oriented technical actions with firearms to the skill level for security personnel.- police escort units. Despite the fact that the technical component should not be the final stage in mastering a separate exercise and the whole discipline of fire training. To assess the ability of an employee to act competently in possible situations of professional activity, it is possible by means of forming skills of technical and tactical actions with firearms.

In the course of the study, such conditions were identified that are not provided for in any CS and NOP: shooting with leaving the line of fire; double shots (flash); in conditions of oncoming shooting. It is worth noting that such an element as leaving the line of fire is important for preserving the life and health of employees in situations of fire contact with a criminal.

Konstantinov V.N. and Egoshin I.V. wrote in their research: "... most often, police officers are killed or injured in fire contact due to the lack of skills and skills to leave the line of fire of the offender" ^[8].

According to the current Instructions, conditions such as: shooting on the jump; self–cocking; after eliminating the delay; at an emerging target; with the transfer of fire into the depth; performing exercises in the presence of an external stimulus - are also absent in small arms shooting exercises for employees of security and convoy police units, although they are no less important in the process their training.

The main distinctive features of service by employees of security and convoy units of the police are: service, mainly in a limited or enclosed space (convoy room of the court, body of a special car, a block of cameras, a flight of stairs, etc.), ultrashort distances of probable use of firearms (due to the peculiarities of the order of escorting a special contingent in a "hand to hand" way) ^[9].

Performing the exercise (standard) after eliminating the delay ^[3]. This condition is also missing from the current edition of the Fire Training Manual.

A police officer should always be ready, if necessary, to quickly navigate, eliminate any delay, and continue to fight with the offender. Therefore, this condition can also be classified as practice-oriented and should be practiced in fire training classes ^{[11, 13]}.

Shooting at an emerging target and transferring fire into the depth. In accordance with the latest editions of the Fire Training Manuals, these conditions are also not included in any shooting practice exercises. On the one hand, this is due to the difficulties caused by the need for technical equipment of shooting ranges and shooting ranges, which requires additional material costs. On the other hand, if we compare it with the practice of using firearms, then in the vast majority of cases the criminal does not represent a static target, but constantly moves, while in some cases his actions are tactically competent (changes positions for shooting, which reduces the area of his defeat; uses natural obstacles as a shelter, etc.).

In addition, the conditions of the shooting exercises were divided into 2 categories: general conditions – the most typical for all the studied documents (contained in 82% of the exercises); private – the remaining conditions in which the average value in the exercises was 10%.

When studying the specific conditions of shooting exercises for KS-92, we concluded that in the process of fire training, all exercises were performed by police officers with one hand; in 27% of the exercises, shooting was carried out with an uncomfortable hand; 18% of the exercises involved performing one or more technical actions: shooting from the knee; lying down; from the cabin of the vehicle; after movement; at a moving target; with the choice of the affected area; with the transfer of fire into the depth; after psychological stress. 9 % of the practice shooting exercises contained the following conditions: shooting from a prone position; in motion; after short stops; from behind cover; after changing the store; after a U-turn; after physical exertion.

The following technical actions with firearms were not provided for by KS-92: leaving the line of fire; shooting with two hands; shooting offhand; shooting with self-cocking; flash (double shots); after eliminating the delay in firing; at an emerging target; with the transfer of fire into depth; oncoming shooting.

According to KS-98, such conditions as shooting after movement; with the transfer of fire along the front were contained in 33% of shooting exercises. Software is not provided

This COP has the following technical actions with weapons: leaving the line of fire; shooting offhand; self-cocking; flash (double shots); after eliminating the delay in firing; with the choice of the affected area; with the transfer of fire into depth; after physical exertion; after psychological stress; oncoming shooting.

According to the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 11.09.2000 No. 955, the main technical elements to which the process of fire training of employees was directed were: shooting with the transfer of fire along the front (45% of exercises); shooting from the knee position (36% of exercises); shooting after a U-turn (27% of exercises). According to this Manual, the following technical actions are not provided: leaving the line of fire; in motion; self-cocking; flash (double shots); after eliminating the delay in firing; with the choice of the affected area; at an emerging target; with the transfer of fire into depth; after psychological stress; oncoming shooting.

According to the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 11/13/2012 No. 1030 DSP, the main technical elements to which the process of fire training of employees was directed were: shooting from the knee; shooting with the choice of the affected area; with the transfer of fire along the front – the average percentage of these conditions in the exercises was 21%. The following technical actions are not provided for in this Manual: shooting from a prone position; leaving the line of fire; in motion; flash (double shots); after changing the magazine; at an emerging target; with the transfer of fire into the depth; after physical exertion; after psychological stress; oncoming shooting.

According to the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 11/23/2017 No. 880, the main technical elements to which the process of fire training of employees was directed were: shooting with the transfer of fire along the front (46% of exercises); shooting from the knee (38% of exercises); shooting with the choice of the affected area (38% of exercises); after short stops (23% of exercises); after movement (23% of exercises). The following technical actions are not provided for in this Manual: leaving the line of fire; shooting offhand; self-cocking; flash (double shots); after eliminating the delay; at an emerging target; with the transfer of fire into depth; after psychological stress; counter-firing.

Conclusion

The main conclusions of the study:

1. In the process of systematization of shooting exercises from combat handguns in accordance with the CS and NOP, general and specific conditions were identified – technical actions with firearms. General conditions are contained in 82% of the exercises, while specific conditions are represented in only 10% of the exercises. In accordance with our assumption that the number of conditions in shooting exercises is proportional to the amount of time spent on training employees in these conditions, we conclude that within the framework of professional training programs for employees of security and convoy police units, the allotted hours of training time may not be enough to bring other, more practical skills to the level oforiented technical actions with firearms. In this regard, when developing pedagogical technology for training employees of security and convoy police units for the lawful use of firearms, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of consistent study of practice-oriented conditions - technical actions with firearms, according to the priority order, i.e., first of all, those that, according to official statistical data, are more common in the practice of the studied categories of employees.

2. Within the framework of the study, physical conditions were identified – technical actions with firearms that are important for the formation of professional skills and abilities of employees of security and convoy police units ^[12]. The key technical and tactical actions necessary to prepare employees of security and convoy police units for the lawful use of firearms must certainly take into account the basic conditions of service - a limited (enclosed) space, as well as ultra-short distances of the most likely use of firearms.

3. Despite the improvement of regulatory legal documents on the organization of fire training in the Department of Internal Affairs, there are no fundamental changes in the structure of the developed shooting exercises. More than 80% of the exercises (regardless of COP or NOP) include conditions that form a police officer mainly basic knowledge and skills of safe handling of firearms, as well as techniques for producing one or a series of shots. About 80% of the study time is allocated to general conditions, while an average of 10% is allocated to private conditions, which contain the main practice-oriented actions with firearms. If we take into account that a number of necessary technical actions with firearms are not provided for by the COP and the NOP at all, then the set of skills and abilities associated with the lawful use of firearms by employees of security and convoy police units becomes more limited.

4. Taking into account the nature and conditions of service by the employees of the security and convoy units of the police, an assumption was made about the likely conditions for the use of firearms by employees of this category. As it turned out, exactly the conditions that we noted in the study are missing in the editions of the COP and the NOP ^{[6, 13]}.

5. When comparing the conditions of shooting exercises with the physical conditions of use of firearms indicated in Table 1, such conditions were identified that are absent in shooting exercises according to the current NOP, namely: leaving the line of fire; shooting offhand; shooting with self-cocking; flash (double shots); shooting after eliminating the delay; shooting at an emerging target; shooting with the transfer of fire into the depth; shooting after psychological stress; oncoming shooting. In our opinion, all these physical conditions have a practice-oriented character, since they correspond to the conditions of professional activity of employees of security and convoy police units, and therefore should be included in the system of professional training of employees of this category.

^[1] "On the direction of the review of emergency incidents committed in 2021 in the activities of temporary detention facilities for suspects and accused of internal affairs bodies, security and escort units, special receivers for the detention of persons subjected to administrative arrest, as well as special institutions designed to hold foreign citizens and stateless persons subject to administrative expulsion outside the Russian Federation, deportation or readmission and measures taken to prevent them in the context of the spread of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19)" No. 1/2719 dated 03/18/2022

^[2] Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 30.09.1992 No. 350 "On approval of the Course of shooting from small arms for ordinary and commanding personnel of the internal Affairs bodies of the Russian Federation" (hereinafter – KS-92); order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 08/28/1998 No. 524 "On approval of the Course of shooting from combat handguns for ordinary and commanding personnel of bodies Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation" (hereinafter – KS-98); Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated 09/11/2000 No. 955 "On approval of the Instruction on fire training in the Internal Affairs bodies of the Russian Federation"; Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated 11/11/2012 No. 1030 dsp "On approval of the Instruction on the organization of fire training in the internal Affairs bodies of the Russian Federation"; Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 11/23/2017 No. 880 "On approval of the Instruction on the organization of fire training in the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation".