The Guilford County Sheriff’s Department has had a firing range at the Guilford County Prison Farm for about four decades and the county has never charged other law enforcement agencies to use the facility but that may be changing.
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the Guilford County commissioners were surprised to find out that there was no charge for using the facility, and the commissioners instructed Guilford County Manager Marty Lawing to look into implementing a fee for other law enforcement agencies to use the Sheriff’s Department’s range.
The firing range, which is on the old Guilford County Prison Farm property on County Farm Road, is used extensively by law enforcement agencies from across the state as well as by federal law enforcement agencies.
Guilford County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Randy Shepherd told the board that just about every surrounding agency within driving distance uses the range.
For about 40 years, since the range was built, those agencies have used the range at no charge. Among the dozen or so users are the Greensboro Police Department, the High Point Police Department, the FBI and the Alamance County Sheriff’s Department.
At the Feb. 25 meeting, Commissioner Skip Alston said that, with that facility in high demand, it doesn’t make sense for the county to pay all the costs with no help from other users.
Commissioner Carolyn Coleman didn’t like the idea of the county charging the Greensboro Police Department to use the range.
“Greensboro residents pay county taxes,” she said.
Alston replied, “But Greensboro city government doesn’t.”
Commissioner Alan Branson said that charging users would simply help the county handle maintenance expenses.
“I think the opportunity exists to at least cover the cost,” he said.
Branson said it was his understanding that there are not a lot of other ranges that can offer what the county’s firing range offers.
Commissioner Jeff Phillips said it didn’t make sense to offer the use of the range at no cost.
“I think we are all surprised to find that we are not assessing any type of fee,” Phillips said.
The range is used very heavily and the commissioners commented that that’s no surprise since it was a completely free facility whereas others were likely not.
One commissioner suggested that the county might simply request a donation from users, but Alston didn’t like that idea.
“We got the US Marshals and the FBI using it – they are not going to voluntarily make a donation,” he said.
The board is likely to vote on the matter at a future date. At the retreat there was a broad consensus to implement the fee.
Forgive me Mr. Alston ( and other like-minded politicians) but aren’t the majority of GPD officers residents of Guilford County? If so then they do pay county taxes just like the rest of us. I’d much rather our tax dollars go to support all NC law enforcement officer’s firearms training than Skip Alston’s personal pet projects.
Man has no problem asking for 100’s of thousands of dollars every year to fund his pork pies and personal friends “Non-profits” (LMAO) but God forbid we support our men and women of law enforcement who lay their lives on the line every day for us.
Who are these so-called commissioners? Are they serving the citizens of GC or their own personal agendas?
The Guilford County Sheriff’s Dept. range is not the only range for law enforcement in Guilford County to utilize. The High Point Police Department has our own range facility that offers training to HPPD and 25 other local, state and federal agencies. It has state of the art pistol and rifle ranges, areas for tactical training with a “shoot house” and a repelling tower. It has a classroom area and a mat room for physical training. It has facilities for weapons maintenance. The range was funded with federal and state grant monies along with budget funds from the City of High Point. The range is considered a regional facility. It has never charged fees for use, which was part of the agreement on receiving the grant funding. Guilford County Sheriff’s Department personnel have trained at the HPPD range from time to time over the years. We strive to maintain a good working relationship with them and all area law enforcement agencies.
The HPPD range assists local community colleges with the firearms portions of Basic Law Enforcement Training. The range is used quite frequently in providing quality training for the area law enforcement community. Several of the agencies in our surrounding counties have different types of firing range opportunities, but still utilize the High Point range facility to seek specialized training. It also provides for area agencies to train together and be able to use best practices when needed to serve and protect our respective jurisdictions.
I am very proud of the training provided by HPPD to its officers and those of the surrounding areas. It has always been the mission of HPPD to properly train its officers and others in the law enforcement community. The public expects and deserves professionally trained officers. HPPD has and will continue to do this. We have the support of our city council and city management in these endeavors. The HPPD Firing range is an excellent example of our commitment to training.
Major Jim Tate (Retired)
Assistant Chief of Police
High Point Police Department