Attorney General Knudsen asks Legislature for indoor firing range at Montana Law Enforcement Academy

HELENA – Attorney General Austin Knudsen testified today in the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Long-Range Planning in support of a capital investment project that, if approved by the Montana Legislature, will provide funding for an indoor firing range at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA) in Helena.

An indoor firing range will equip MLEA with the tools necessary to provide Montana’s next generation of law enforcement officers with improved firearms training and properly prepare them for their work in the field. Currently, MLEA is forced to rent space at an outdoor shooting range in Helena to conduct firearms training which has led to increased rental fees, scheduling issues, but more importantly challenges for students and staff training in the winter during subzero temperatures.

“The single biggest responsibility we ask our law enforcement officers in Montana is to carry a firearm and our biggest responsibility to them is providing proper firearms training so they are prepared for what they may encounter in the field. A cadet is not thinking about the fundamentals of firearm safety in subzero temperatures. We’re long overdue for a firing range at the Academy and I am making it one of my priorities to secure the funding this session,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “While cadets receive excellent training at MLEA, this is the one area we are lacking simply because we do not have a range. This appropriation will fix that.”

MLEA provides the Law Enforcement Officer Basic Course (LEOB) to all local, state, and tribal law enforcement officers in the state. LEOB is an intensive 12-week course offered three times a year and includes at least a week of firearms training. However, due to some of the challenges of renting an outdoor facility, in some cases staff have been forced to cut firearms training short.

The Academy also provides Correction/Detention Officer Basic Course and Public Safety Communicators Basic Course, in addition to professional and advanced courses for law enforcement officers across the state.

An indoor firing range will build on recent enhancements to MLEA’s law enforcement officer training. Last year, Attorney General Knudsen cut the ribbon on the new Bryan E. Lockerby Scenario Training Facility on the MLEA campus that will provide students at MLEA with an indoor space to conduct a number of scenarios they will face in the field, enhancing their training and better preparing them for their careers in law enforcement.

The $10 million dollar investment is included in House Bill 5. Click here to watch the Attorney General’s testimony.