Sands Commits $500,000 to the LVMPD Foundation To Support Advanced Crisis Training
Sands has committed $500,000 over two years through Sands Cares to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation (LVMPD) in support of phase one construction of the LVMPD Reality Based Training Center on the campus of the Joint Emergency Training Institute in Las Vegas.
The LVMPD Reality Based Training Center is a master-planned project designed to provide law enforcement and first responders with the nation’s most sophisticated, highly technical reality-based tactical training. It offers access to unprecedented training capabilities with a focus on de-escalation tactics, active shooter incidents, including those with mass casualties, as well as training for natural disasters, including the simulation of responses to crises like the current COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, it is envisioned the Center will be used by law enforcement throughout the country.
The first phase of the Reality Based Training Center includes two buildings. The first building spans more than 50,000 square feet and includes administrative offices, four classrooms with a capacity to train 240 officers, mat rooms and simulators. The shell of the second building is constructed and is a 130,000-square-foot structure that will house a state-of-the-art indoor, climate-controlled tactical training village with simulated venues including a gas station and convenience store, casino and hotel rooms, cell phone store, doctor’s office, restaurant, retail store, CrossFit gym, school with science labs and classrooms, and a grocery store. The indoor tactical village is designed to accommodate training for active shooter situations in lifelike settings.
The Center’s first building is already operational and in active daily use by LVMPD officers, who are benefiting from a variety of training courses, including de-escalation tactics, active-shooter, mass-casualty incidents, and medical training that will help them “stop the bleed” in the field.
“It is a privilege to lead the development of the new training center for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and other first responders,” says Tom Kovach, executive director of the LVMPD Foundation. “The Sands’ executive team understands that an investment in training is an investment in Southern Nevada’s future. We thank them for their generosity and commitment to public safety. A safe community is a thriving community given that public safety is foundational to ensuring a quality experience for tourists, as well as quality of life for residents.”
With the Sands Cares contribution, the LVMPD Foundation has realized more than $28 million of its $35 million phase one fundraising goal, which covers costs for the design and construction of the first building and the shell of the second building, an indoor tactical training village.
“Public safety is foundational to the well-being of our communities and a key priority for our commitment to making our local regions great places to live, work and visit,” said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, who spearheads corporate responsibility initiatives at Sands. “Through Sands Cares, we focus on helping build capacity and readying our communities for times of crises. The LVMPD Reality Based Training Center will train our local law enforcement – and ultimately those throughout the country – to be better prepared to protect our valley’s residents and its 42 million-plus visitors.”
Sands’ contribution to the LVMPD Foundation in support of LVMPD’s Reality Based Training Center is part of Sands Cares’ broader commitment to helping communities build infrastructure and preparedness to strengthen response and resiliency in times of disaster and crisis. The Sands Cares community engagement program provides funding, capacity building and volunteer support to make communities ideal places to live, work and visit. To learn more about Sands Cares, please visit https://www.sands.com/responsibility/communities/#our-program-sands-cares
