ABOUT
The Weapons and Equipment Research Institute (WERI), has provided a unique service to the law enforcement community since it became funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance grant in 2004. Our institute has provided both technical assistance to local law enforcement agencies as well as set the bar for testing and evaluation in some areas of less lethal weapons technology. We are the only institute in the United States that conducts testing and evaluation of the entire range of law enforcement less lethal weapons. This provides a great opportunity where the majority of universities are focusing their resources on theoretical and survey research; we have pushed the envelope by conducting less lethal weapons testing and publishing the findings.
We have found that the majority of students and faculty in academia have very little experience with these weapons, which prevents the large majority from even having the ability to conduct the hands-on testing that is most beneficial to law enforcement. Both the Institute director and personnel are instructors for these less lethal weapons and are qualified to train law enforcement agencies on their usage. These agencies need hard numbers that they can apply to budgetary and even tactical decisions. We are able to provide quantitative and qualitative testing that is unique as the results are tangible and can be applied immediately in the field.
The goals for the Weapons and Equipment Research Institute are:
• Disseminate less lethal weapons testing and findings to law enforcement and academia.
• Foster collaboration between law enforcement, industry and academia to address specific problems in the use of force by governmental entities
• Provide researchers opportunities for testing in less-lethal and firearms technologies
• Conduct independent testing of law enforcement equipment
• Create opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to participate in testing/evaluation in the area of less lethal weapons technology
Contact: Email: cmesloh@yahoo.com