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PepperBall conducts more than 200 instructor sessions across the globe every year. Behind that number is a deliberate model: train-the-trainer. PepperBall certifies officers inside an agency to teach, certify, and sustain the program for their own people, so the capability stays with the department long after the class ends.
Research on use-of-force and crisis-intervention training consistently finds that knowledge gains from one-time courses diminish over time, which is why continuing and in-service education matters. An embedded, certified instructor is what converts a one-time class into a sustained program, running refreshers and onboarding new officers so proficiency doesn’t fade.
The model starts with the instructors who lead it. PepperBall Master Trainers bring decades of in-field experience across military and law enforcement, and many came to the role as PepperBall users and champions within their own agencies first. They have carried the system on duty, trained their own colleagues on it, and seen what it does in real encounters. They teach from experience, ground the training in the situations officers actually face, and make sure every officer leaves confident in deploying the system at the right time and the right distance.
Classroom training, range instruction, and scenario teach-backs are where the train-the-trainer approach lives. Officers learn to build a course that fits their department’s own policies and procedures, and they earn the authority to certify their colleagues going forward. Every agency that fields the PepperBall system should have at least one certified instructor, someone who can carry the standard forward year after year, onboard new hires, and run refreshers according to their department training schedule.
The armorer side matters just as much. Certified officers learn to identify, problem-solve, repair, and maintain the launcher systems themselves. That means a department is never dependent on a service call to keep its equipment ready. The knowledge stays in-house, and so does the readiness.
Training drills and are built around realistic, scenario-based decision-making. Officers are challenged to make split-second choices and then justify them, with instructors and peers debriefing every scenario afterward. The training reinforces correct, confident use of the PepperBall system under pressure, not just how it works, but when and how to deploy it. That feedback loop is where sound judgment becomes repeatable.
“We build the class around real scenarios and honest debriefs because that’s what sticks. Officers leave able to make the right call under pressure and explain why,” said Lt. Mike Forrest, Golf Manor, OH, PD; PepperBall Master Instructor.
The payoff stays with the agency. A certified instructor keeps training current, equipment ready, and new officers prepared. Across more than 200 sessions a year, that is how PepperBall builds capability that lasts and decisions officers can stand behind.
Register for upcoming training at pepperball.com/training.
