textfiles/law/crimeftr.025

             Where to Obtain the Training to be a CrimeFighter

If you're not an ex-cop, you might consider being a police officer for a
year or two, to get the training and experience.

Metropolitan Police Departments often are looking for police officers.
Eligibility requirements usually require: 21+ years of age; High School
diploma or GED; no felony convictions; U.S. Citizen; visual acuity no worse
than 20/200 correctable to 20/20 with glasses.

Highway Patrols have similar but tougher physical requirements. The FBI has
the most stringent educational, and physical fitness requirements.  Ask
them for details if you are interested.

Details on the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Academy training were not
available, but it is probably similar to that at the Nevada Highway Patrol,
which lasts 22 weeks. Besides a (1991) base pay of $411.42 per week, cadets
receive free room and board. But, in some states, eligibility for academy
training is 12 month's service, to protect their financial investment.

Police academies resemble military Boot Camps for basic training. They have
vigorous physical training and strong emphasis on armed and unarmed self-
defense and all phases of law enforcement. If you attend a police academy,
the training you receive will be of considerable benefit to you the rest of
your life, whether you decide to become a full-time career police officer
or not. If you're "between jobs" and eligible, check it out.

If you want to preview police academy life, read the ($5) pocketbook "The
Making of a Cop", by Harvey Rachlin, published by Pocketbooks (1991).
Besides finding out about the academy, you'll also see the unpleasant
aspects of police work, including baby-sitting rotting corpses. (The book
is listed in CRIMCAT.)

Police academy training, while considered essential for police officers,
may be less important for CrimeFighters. In "The Making of a Cop," the
author tells how a rookie feels when he goes through the N.Y. Police
Academy, what it's like, and what happens after the academy.  In
particular, he mentions the following:

"It seems to be a normal evolutionary process for academy graduates in
their first year out on the streets to tell themselves, after witnessing
the depraved conditions and being in constant contact with the worst in
society, "We can just forget all that bullshit we learned at the academy."
This is somewhat demoralizing when they think back at how earnestly they
applied themselves, only to find out that that's not what real life as a
cop is about. Yet they would do better to consider the academy, in Captain
DeRienzo's words, as "the beginning of training, not the end." The course
work may be idealistic in today's world, but it does establish a critically
important perspective: the need to treat others as human beings -
respectable, decent and innocent until proven guilty. Anything less would
risk turning the law enforcement system into a farce and the society it
protects into a police state."   Unquote.

If you don't have the time or opportunity to attend Police Academies, but
have either military training and/or street experience, you may be just as
qualified to be a CrimeFighter. The rest of the training you can learn from
videotapes and books on law enforcement subjects listed in CRIMCAT, and by
taking a few courses at various schools that are listed below.

                     Security Guards and CrimeFighters

Many states have or are considering regulation, training and licensing of
private police. Private security firms, and security guards themselves, are
becoming more aware of their own lawsuit liability from overzealous and
untrained personnel. In the near future, licensing, regulation and training
will be required in all states. Some private security firms already have
training programs. Look for them. Check them out first before you sign up.
If training is available, you may get paid to attend classes as well as
receive valuable basic training in all aspects of making citizen arrests.

A training manual for security guards, "Private Security and the Law,"
written by Charles P. Nemeth, is also a training manual for CrimeFighters.
As the book explains, a security guard has no more police authority than a
civilian. Accordingly, everything in the book also applies 100 percent to
CrimeFighters.  The book includes (among other subjects) the law of arrest,
search, and seizure and their applications in the private sector; civil and
criminal liability of security personnel; the enforcement of laws and
interpretation of evidence; and public and private law enforcement. It also
includes dozens of examples and case histories explaining various scenarios
and court decisions. As a recent publication (1989), it's tailor-made for
CrimeFighters. CrimeFighters need to know all they can learn about citizens
arrests and the inherent problems they may face.

If you'd like to try the job, before you plunge into full-time police work
(as a cop or CrimeFighter) try working as a security guard for Pinkertons,
Brinks, Wells-Fargo, or other well-known company. The pay will be minimal,
but you will receive some training and get to know other security guards,
cops and ex-cops, and if you're lucky, have the opportunity to make a few
citizen arrests.

If you make an arrest for a felony while on duty as a security guard, you
may not earn a big reward, but you will be eligible to apply under 3059. If
you think the reward may not be as much as you think it's worth and fines
and forfeitures are involved, you might consider prosecuting the case under
Qui Tam law.  Remember, security guards are eligible for rewards, Qui Tam,
and can use RICO as well as CrimeFighters' personal lawsuits.

                           CrimeFighter Seminars

CrimeFighter lodges will, as part of their educational, fraternal and
social activities, present low-cost, local CrimeFighter Seminars every
month. The purpose of Crimefighter Seminars is to educate the public,
recruit members, and promote the name and concept of CrimeFighters. Look
for the local advertising of CrimeFighter Seminars in your area.

CrimeFighter lodges will host the seminars and invite qualified people,
such as various law enforcement agents and criminal defense lawyers to be
guest speakers on various law enforcement related subjects. Seminar topics
and guest speakers may vary from month-to-month to avoid repetition.

CrimeFighter seminars will provide question and answer sessions that will
supplement material in this book and others. Seminars will be presented as
a public service. They will be held at local libraries or high schools
where suitable rooms are available for about $10 per night cleaning charge.
A small charge of $10 may be charged to defray the cost of the room rent as
well as paying for printing of handout material.

Not everybody will want to be full-time, active CrimeFighters. The majority
of people attending these seminars will acquire the motivation to look
and dig for information and pass it on to CrimeFighters or police. They'll
be instructed to leave dangerous work to experienced professionals.

                              Special Schools

Rocky Mountain Combat Applications Group, 2888 Bluff St., # 118, Boulder,
Colorado 80301. This is a five day training course in street fighting,
conducted by Peyton Quinn, author of "Bouncer's Guide to Barroom Brawling."
If you read CRIMCAT you'll see a few of his books and videos listed there.

Incidentally, if you'd like a preview of this course, it's on video. Send
$15 for the video, and if you attend the course, it's refundable.

The emphasis is on street fighting, low blows and all the dirty sneaky
tricks that aren't usually taught in any school -- until now!

From a recent brochure: "This is you opportunity for 5 days of instruction
in 'Real World' self defense by the instructors of BLACK MEDICINE, the
video and the author of A BOUNCERS GUIDE TO BARROOM BRAWLING. If you apply
yourself at this 5 day training camp you will definitely leave with a
significantly improved ability to defend yourself in a 'real world'
assault... and a lot more. This is primarily because your instructors at
the camp have such "real world" experience. Each has worked as a "bouncer"
or "cooler" and in other security related fields and this experience has
provided them with a very unique opportunity to study the reality of how
"sucker punchers", "knifers', and assorted types of "ambushers" actually
operate.

The program of instruction at this camp has been developed based on that
collective knowledge of real fights: How they start, how they can be
avoided, and how you can finish them when demanded. There is much more to
self defense than is ever discussed in most martial arts Dojos.

Testimonial from Al Tino, 2nd degree black belt. "I'm always in a constant
search for what's going to really work in an emergency situation... I've
learned an awful lot at the camp. I think I'm much better prepared for a
real world encounter now."

The brochure didn't list the cost of the 5 day course, but the 3 day course
mentioned in Peyton's letter was $325 per person. Assume the 5 day course
is around $500. Write for their current brochure, schedule and prices.

                                * * * * * *

The G. Gordon Liddy Institute, which operates in Miami, Florida, uses as a
mailing address P.O. Box 7570, Van Nuys, CA91409 (818) 989-1000 Fax (818)
989-1508. This school is headed by a former FBI Agent and a Staff Assistant
to the President of the United States. The school instructors are known to
be leading experts in their respective fields, such as firearms, tactical
defense training, and bail bond recovery.  Five courses require a stay in
Miami at your own expense: (a) Executive Protection (3 days, $825); (b)
Bail Enforcement (2 days, $550) taught by Bob Burton, President of NABEA.;
(c) Surveillance Techniques (2 days, $550); (d) Electronic Counter-measures
(2 days, $490); and (e) Defensive Weapons Tactics and Personal Defense
Tactics (2 days, $500). The latter is required for all certificate courses.

CrimeFighters who want basic training might consider the last three courses
at Liddy (c, d, and e) mentioned above.  Total cost might be close to
$3,000.  If you can afford it, you might consider this school as being
close to what you might need. Add a few books on other subjects that you'd
like to pursue as your specialty for the rest of your training.

                                 * * * * * *

The American Pistol Institute (API), P.O. Box 401, Paulden, AZ 86334, (602)
636-4565, is strictly a firearms training school located on a 850-acre
ranch called Gunsite, about 25 miles from Prescott, Arizona. A testimonial
from a former graduate says, "If you took ALL the facilities owned by ALL
the other U.S. Shooting Schools and combined them into one, at best you
would come up with about 25% of what is available at Gunsite."

API's Managing Director is Jeff Cooper, noted author, teacher, lecturer,
and firearms consultant. He is generally considered to be the world's
foremost authority of sidearm techniques.  API teaches virtually everything
you want to know and learn about guns and shooting. Individual courses are
taught at $700 each.

Each one (pistols, rifles, shotguns, and carbines) includes combat
simulated action like those in police academy courses, with pop up targets
of "good guys" and "bad guys," plus indoor, outdoor, and shooting-in-the-
dark target practice.  Each course uses up about 1,000 rounds.  Standard
ammunition is used, not magnum loads, and .38's to .45 caliber, double-
action revolvers or pistols are recommended for the handgun courses.
Factory ammunition and reloads are available at the ranch.  If you want to
become a better-than-average law enforcement officer with a handgun, rifle,
and shotgun, this is the place to get that specialized training.

To be a Top Gun among handgunners, you can take four pistol courses, each a
prerequisite to others: General Pistol, Intermediate, Special, and
Pistolcraft Extension "Clinics."

Because of the proficiency acquired by graduates of their courses, a
requirement for enrollment is that the applicant must provide evidence that
he or she is not a convicted felon, and is recommended by a respected
public official. A letter from your local chief of police stating you have
no criminal record, and a letter from a local public figure or your lawyer
who says you are known to be a responsible person, may be accepted as
satisfactory for enrollment.  The majority of attendees seem to be law
enforcement and military personnel who want to be much better with guns
than the bad guys -- to have an edge -- and Jeff Cooper doesn't want it the
other way around.

The API provides limited camping space for self-contained RVs, but no hook-
ups.  Hotels and motels in Prescott are available and all meals are on
your own. A caterer visits the ranch at noon dispensing sandwiches and
beverages for lunch.
                                * * * * * *

CrimeFighters can learn most techniques, such as skip tracing, surveillance
techniques, using special equipment, and others. from books written by
people who are trained and experienced in those areas. Many videotapes are
available on related topics.  But there is no substitute for hands-on
training with weapons and personal self-defense.

A word to the wise: learning boxing (a la Marquis of Queensbury rules),
wrestling, and learning the martial arts also help. They're good exercise
and may give you confidence, but don't rely totally on that knowledge.
When you're in a back alley or barroom brawl you need to know street
fighting and dirty tricks. Books on these subjects are also available.

Examples: "Fists, Wits, and a Wicked Right" (Surviving on the Wild Side of
the Street); "Pool Cues, Beer Bottles, and Baseball Bats," a guide to
improvised weapons for self-defense; "Kill Shots" (a videotape); "101
Sucker Punches"; "Bouncer's Guide to Barroom Brawling"; "Anything Goes";
"Danger Zones"; "Fight for Your Life" (Secrets of Street Fighting); and
many others.

Street fighting isn't (usually) taught in gymnasiums. You can learn street
fighting the hard way, by being on the receiving end or by reading a few
good books by the guys that know street fighting and teach you all the
nasty tricks they use to stay alive.

A large amount of knowledge you need can be obtained by reading special-
interest books on subjects relevant to your field of interest.  Further
education and training may be gained through contact with other people who
will share their knowledge, books, equipment, and experiences with you.
That's one of the reasons and benefits of being a member and belonging to
a CrimeFighter lodge.

Not all CrimeFighters will carry a gun or expect to be in life-threatening
situations, but it wouldn't hurt to be capable and competent with handguns
and other self-defense skills.  You never know when it might be needed.

                     National Rifle Association (NRA)

If you can't attend Jeff Cooper's classes, you can attend similar handgun
courses offered by the National Rifle Association for firearms training,
law enforcement courses taught in universities.

The NRA has dozens of shooting courses being offered in various cities
throughout the United States. In response to my request for information on
where and when classes are offered, they wrote:

"The NRA trains and certifies the instructors who introduce the public to
the fundamentals of pistol shooting, handgun operation and gun safety. Live
firing is included in this 10-hour pistol course. The instructors are NRA
volunteers; some will only charge their students for the cost of course
materials, while others also charge for their time. It is up to the
individual instructor to set a fee. Likewise, when, where, and how often
the instructors hold their classes is their decision. Therefore, because of
the nature of this program, I think it would be better to mention in your
book that the reader may call or write to the NRA Education and Training
Division, 1600 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 or (202) 828-
6245 and request a list of local certified instructors in his or her area.
Rather than print a list that may be quickly outdated, stating that the
reader should contact the NRA is the best route."

Tip: Local gun stores usually know about NRA classes or NRA-authorized gun
ranges in your area.  Ask them first. If no gun store in your area knows
anything about local NRA gun course/ranges, write to: Ms. Brenda K.
Dalessandro, Manager, Communications Department, Education and Training
Div., 1600 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Washington, DC  20036-40610-62 or Phone
(202) 828-6000 Fax(202) 223-2691.

If gun-carrying permits can be obtained in their State, you need to be
aware of the serious responsibility of using a firearm, when not to use it,
and the legal and financial consequences of using one. Massad Ayoob covers
this topic in his two books, "In the Gravest Extreme" and "The Truth About
Self Protection." (In CRIMCAT.)

                                 Gun Laws

The NRA has issued a pamphlet overview of each State's gun laws. It covers
just about everything about purchasing, registration, and carrying a weapon
and about handgun, rifle, shotgun, and machinegun laws. These pamphlets,
one for each State, are FREE for the asking.  Write to: NRA Institute for
Legislative Action, 1600 Rhode Island Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036
(Please include a dollar to cover printing and mailing costs.)

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