Hartsville Police Department implements virtual training for officers

HARTSVILLE, S.C. (WMBF) - From business meetings to socializing with friends, many people are spending more time online. And now, so are officers with the Hartsville Police Department.

The department recently started experimenting with virtual training not only as a way to keep officers socially distant while training, but also to cut down on overtime, according to a Facebook post by Hartsville police.

The department says one in-person training session involving 40 officers could cost $2,100 in overtime.

The virtual training lets officers do the training on their own, and they don’t have to sit in a classroom on their day off.

“Some of the officers have to come in on a day off, or come off night shift, so they aren’t as rested. Exhausted employees have a harder time making the right decisions in a crisis, so we want our officers to have their days off to themselves” said Hartsville Police Lt. Mark Blair.

Of course, some training - including shooting, defensive tactics and taser training - cannot be performed virtually.

But Blair added they have been splitting people into small groups and separating as much as possible.

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