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Illinois Law Enforcement Prepares For Concealed Carry

The arrival of concealed carry in Illinois will mean a big change not only for gun-owning citizens, but police officers as well. The state board that oversees police training is already preparing for the change.
Police in Illinois are already trained on how to approach someone with a gun. Since that person was likely breaking the law, safety and caution were the watchwords. But how does that calculus change when citizens are able to carry legally?  

Kevin McClain, with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, says police will have to modify their tactics.   

"Where they may, for instance, see a concealed weapon, to take the tack that these are persons that are citizens in the state of Illinois that may be 100 percent properly carrying a concealed weapon," McClain said.   

McClain says training will be mandatory for new police recruits, and optional for the roughly 40,000 existing officers throughout the state. He says the board's 16 mobile training units work with many local departments every year.    

Illinois' first concealed carry permits are expected to be issued early next year.