AUGUSTA, Ga. (WFXG) - The Richmond County Sheriff's Office is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to keep the community safe.

On Wednesday, the agency hosted local agencies for a training event focused on non-lethal force options.

FOX54 spent the day at the Richmond County Sheriff's Office's training range in Blythe to learn how they de-escalate conflict and resolve situations with the use of non-lethal force.

"Today, we're having a demonstration put on by PepperBall to just help us keep our community safe and officers safe by using less lethal ways to accomplish and arrest or whatever we're set out to do," Richmond County Sheriff Gino Brantley says.

Representatives from PepperBall were on-site to explain and showcase the equipment and tactics.

"A lot of law enforcement weapons are impact, and we are just area saturation based with the option to directly impact somebody," Regional Director of Sales Jake Miller says. "So, we give a negotiation that a lot of places can't offer plus our product is non-lethal. So, family's drop their kids off to play paint ball on a Saturday, and our product is almost identical to what they're using."

Training exercises include simulations of crowd control, barricaded subjects, and detention center disturbances.

"So, what this does is it gives officers the chance to not have to use their firearm in the line of duty," Miller says. "With 21 years law enforcement experience, there's not a cop out here that's not been affected by a call or a shooting that's not had some form of mental health issues out of it. So, what this does is it gives officers the chance to not have to use their firearm in the line of duty."

National studies show departments with robust non-lethal training and equipment experience 30-50% fewer use-of-force complaints and lower injury rates for both officers and civilians.

Richmond County Sheriff Gino Brantley says local law enforcement agencies are determining if the products could be right for them.

"Hopefully, the deputies are already confident when they roll up to the scene, but this just gives them an extra tool on their built to make sure we're saving as many lives and preventing as many injuries as possible," Sheriff Brantley says.

This training supports the Richmond County Sheriff's Office's mission of accountability, transparency and building trust with the community.