SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - The Springfield Police Department, along with 20 other agencies across the state, are participating in active threat training.
 
The Illinois Terrorism Task Force, in partnership with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, oversees the weeklong training happening on Benedictine University's campus.
 
Thirty-six officers are involved, and by the end of the week, will be active threat instructors able to teach their departments how to respond in tense situations.
 
"Having a training like this where everyone is trained in the same manner, when they respond to that incident, everyone knows what the other person is going to be doing and they can act together as one team." said Joshua Stuenkel, deputy chief for Springfield police.
 
Springfield police said being able to do this training somewhere other than their training facility has been helpful.
 
"To do this type of training where you are thinking about a school or a large business, warehouse type of situation like we had, you've got to have the space to do it," Stuenkel said. "Our training facility doesn't have that and so being able to come into buildings such as this to do that training is important so that you have a real-life scenario situation."
 
Program director for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, Eric Arnold, said the goal is to create a common response to incidents like this statewide.
 
"Common response, common language, common communications is always very effective and efficient at being able to allow multiple jurisdictions that respond to these types of situations to come together and save lives," Arnold said. 
 
After the Bunn-O-Matic shooting almost a year ago, Springfield Police said these trainings are vital and help responses.

"I think it showed during that incident with the number of agencies that showed up, including the state police who had many officers in town that day, and we all did respond and work together as a team, and I think it is that training that has been going on for years that assisted us in that investigation." said Stuenkel.