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LAPD unveils HYDRA disaster response training simulator
A high-tech computer suite that will give Los Angeles police an unprecedented ability to simulate terrorism acts, earthquakes or other disasters will be unveiled by the Los Angeles Police Department, a spokesperson said today.
The training simulator known as HYDRA was described as a "state-of-the art training suite designed to test and hone decision-making skills in realistic critical-incident scenarios," according to the Los Angeles Police
Department's Media Relations Section.
HYDRA is located at the Ahmanson Recruit Training Center in Westchester and is one of only 50 of its kind in the world, and the first in the U.S, the LAPD announced in a news release. Police in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and Australia used HYDRA, and the computers will give law enforcement common
data on training scenarios.
According to the LAPD, "HYDRA can be used to prepare civic leaders and law enforcement command staff for every imaginable emergency or calamity, whether caused by act of man or nature."
Funding for the simulator was arranged by the Los Angeles Police Foundation with major contributions from Target Corporation and the Annenberg Foundation.
Deputy Chief Michael Downing will be one of several officials on hand to demonstrate the HYDRA suite at LAPD's training center near LAX.
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