Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
“We get multiple entities using the venues at the same time and it creates opportunities to have more realistic training without stepping on each other,” said Fisher of the Tactical Training Unit.
Still, a casual observer driving through Hogan’s Alley (not open to the public) might not notice anything unusual, even as training is underway. All the buildings are specially designed for training, with a warren of hidden passages and corridors for instructors, observers, and would-be criminals to navigate. Walls, which can be easily moved, are made of material that can withstand live-fire exercises with simulated bullets. Even the upholstery for the movie theater seats was designed to withstand repeated tactical assaults.
“From the outside you don’t realize the versatility that the space gives us,” said Assistant Director Maguire. “The addition of real-world-based tactical venues provides our agents yet another opportunity for learning the skills necessary to protect the community.”
The term Hogan’s Alley dates back to a 19th century comic strip set in a crime-ridden New York tenement called Hogan’s Alley. In the 1950s, the FBI developed a Hogan’s Alley range that was essentially a 120-foot-long façade where targets would pop up and agents had to quickly determine whether to shoot or not. While less sophisticated than today’s techniques, the premise was largely the same: to put trainees in high-stress situations to prepare them for what may come.
“The more realistic and lifelike we can make these training venues, the better prepared our students are when they encounter the real world,” Fisher said. “We have to introduce information-rich, lifelike environments very early. Everything builds on everything else. And in the environment that we’re working in and with the consequences of the job, we have to give people complexity pretty quick.”