New Taipei City police officer Wang Kuan-wen (王冠文) claimed the first place in the Novice category for sharp-shooting skills at an International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) competition in Thailand earlier this month and finished fourth overall.
Stationed in Lujhou District Precinct, Wang is the first law enforcement officer from Taiwan to win a medal at an IDPA event, which holds competitions in different parts of the world regularly.
The defensive shooting challenges simulate hostile situations in street patrols by requiring competitors to deal with a wide range of props by shooting them as quickly as possible.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Police Department
Wang came first in the Novice category of Enhanced Service Pistol at the IDPA Tier III competition in Hua Hin, Thailand, that took place on July 12 and 13.
He came fourth in the overall.
The New Taipei City Police Department on Thursday said when patrol officers come across armed suspects, it is a life-or-death situation and they need to act within split seconds.
The department said over the past few years it added close-quarters battle (CQB) practice, simulating such situations, into its training program, so officers are better equipped to face hostile encounters and other situations they might come across during patrols.
To improve their decisionmaking and actions in close combat situations, officers must learn defensive skills by going through simulations, it said.
IDPA defensive shooting and CQB training have been incorporated into regular police training so that officers could apprehend suspects in the safest ways possible, it said.
In domestic police training and competitions, officers usually shoot at fixed targets, focusing on their concentration and steadiness while shooting, Wang said.
Airsoft guns are used at IDPA events in Taiwan, he said.
“We [Taiwanese officers] practice fixed range shooting on five-ring targets and human-shaped ones. These are also useful in CQB training and dealing with hostile situations,” he said.
IDPA originated in the US for military and law-enforcement personnel to hone their firearm skills as an alternative to traditional fixed target shooting, the New Taipei department said.
Although IDPA uses human-shaped fixed targets, it also creates new sets of simulations, such as hostage scenarios, so that competitors make quick decisions when confronting suspects and rescuing hostages, it added.
“Usually these simulations use set-up terrain and props with walls and doors, so that the shooter’s vision constantly changes, and it requires quick analysis, decisionmaking and shooting,” Wang said.
“It can be close to real life situations, in which police handle a situation and something unexpected happens,” he said. “In this case, we have to make a decision on the spot quickly, and that includes self-defense. IDPA events have a practical value. Officers can show their defensive combat skills.”
The Enhanced Service Pistol at the IDPA competition has 12 stages including single-handed shooting, weak-hand shooting, and loading a gun, of which cartridge is placed separately on the table, before shooting, he added.
Those who finish challenges in the shortest time become winners, he said, adding that if a competitor shoots a hostage target, five seconds are added to their final score as a penalty point.
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