West Yorkshire Police welcomes The Duke of Edinburgh
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was the guest of honour when he officially opened West Yorkshire Police’s new £38 million training facility at the Carr Gate complex in Wakefield on Friday 10 July, 2015.
The Duke was given a tour of the site before unveiling a plaque to mark the official opening. The facility includes state-of-the-art firearms, public order and driver training facilities alongside Bishopgarth House, which features more technological and traditional learning environments.
He was the first to sign the centre’s official visitors’ book using a pen last used by Her Majesty The Queen when visiting the former Bishopgarth training centre in 1982.
His Royal Highness observed how officers train in the use of handcuff, baton, open hand and conflict resolution tactics before gaining an insight into firearms training and visiting the Public Order Training Centre, which contains replica buildings and street layouts.
The new Carr Gate complex houses police training facilities are among the best not only in the UK, but across the world.
Three firearms ranges allow live fire training with exercises supported by the latest technology and video imagery – some used for the very first time in the UK ensure officers are placed under pressures as near to real-life operational situations as possible.
Indoor and outdoor street scenes with actual buildings bring to life public order training from front-line tactics to command decision-making.
A bespoke public order arena with street layouts which can be altered along with lighting and noise places officers under varied and new challenges. There is a viewing gantry providing staff with a bird’s eye view of the training below to enhance feedback and learning.
The driver training facility utilises the latest technology, replacing the old ‘skid pan’ at Crofton with a vehicle which sits upon a remote-controlled frame to allow trainers to recreate a variety of road conditions.
Official photography from all of the visits can be viewed in the gallery section.