If any one needs to practice more, its the police, and thats very often evident when you hear of their escapades.
Then again, most of the military and police I know or have known on a personal level, have been "gun people", and practiced on their own time and dime to stay up on that part of their profession. Many dont.
I suppose there really isnt much difference with the above when you get down to it here. You have those who carry their gun and dont take it all that serious, and those that do and work harder at it. Like anything else, you get out of it exactly what you put into it.
I know a lot of places wont let you practice realistically, but that doesnt mean you cant practice things at home, and you should be anyway, even if you can shoot as you wish at the range. Dryfire and airsoft will give you pretty much everything but the recoil and blast, and the guns work like the real thing and fit your normal holsters. Still, they are no substitute for the real thing, but especially if its a heavy recoiling handgun that takes more concentration to shoot well with.
You do need to get "good" practice time in with what you plan on carrying and you need to do it on a regular basis if you want to stay on top of things. Its even more important to do so if the gun you choose is difficult to start with.
I shoot with some friends from time to time (who carry all the time too) who dont practice on a regular basis, at the range or at home, and when we do get together to shoot, its pretty obvious. Whats VERY obvious is, when they do have the opportunity to draw and shoot, or draw, move and shoot, they are very hesitant to do so, and very awkward when they do, and its very often a scary thing, and not just for them. While they may shoot somewhat acceptable "groups" at a static bulls eye targets, it all goes south when they have to think about doing other things first, like getting their gun out (without shooting themselves or anyone else) and shooting the target. If you arent reasonably proficient at these things, you really probably shouldn't be carrying that gun.
As far as compromises go, thats up to you. I personally try my best not to when it comes to this. I normally carry a full size pistol (the one I shoot better with) with a double reload, and do what it takes to do so as much as I can. I've done this pretty much every day now for 30 some odd years, and really never had any problems doing so. Still, I do practice with those smaller, more difficult guns on a regular basis too, even though I rarely carry them any more, just in case.
