Queensland Police Union Journal

A Glock at a gunfight? Is it a spear or a dagger?
SDPD SWAT had us try out patrol rifles, which included two sniper variants.
been recovered. This does not include
legitimately owned, illegally imported,
or homemade firearms which may also
be used against police.
the inevitability of an active shooter,
a siege incident, or an encounter
involving armed offenders beyond
handgun range.
This reduces the possibility that an
officer, needing to engage an offender
at distance, will miss and potentially
injure others.
Incident environment
Police operate in a variety of
environments including metropolitan
high rise buildings, compact and
sprawling urban areas, rural acreage,
industrial structures, and all modes of
public transportation such as buses,
trains, and aircraft.
Some of these environments have
hallways in excess of 100 metres long,
transport vehicles start at about 20
metres in length, and houses often
have an open expanse at the front,
making the nearest point of cover
a police car on the street at least 25
metres away. As stated above, most
officers are only adequate at a shorter
distance with a Glock.
Benefits of a patrol rifle?
There can be no doubt in anyone’s
mind that officers have to be
prepared, trained, and equipped for
Accuracy
Experts define ‘handgun range’ as a
distance of less than 45 meters, but
most police are really only adequate
at a distance of about 7 to 10 metres.
Patrol rifles solve this problem. They
provide officer accuracy far beyond the
45 metre handgun range, and provide
numerous other benefits.
A rifle is more ballistically effective
at longer ranges than the handgun,
and it also requires less proficiency to
effectively engage threats at distances
far exceeding those of a handgun.
Reduced exposure to the threat
For years now we have been taught
that distance equals safety.
As highlighted, the rifle allows for a
greater distance to be maintained
“A rifle is more ballistically effective at longer
ranges than the handgun, and it also requires
less proficiency to effectively engage threats at
distances far exceeding those of a handgun.”
between the threat and the officer,
therefore providing greater officer
safety.
A competent officer with a patrol
carbine can increase its already
inherent accuracy by adopting more
stable firing platforms such as a
kneeling or prone (lying) position.
Queensland Police Union Journal June 2013 35