THE patrolman drew his handgun and fired at the suspected purse-snatcher, fleeing on a crowded downtown street last March 5.

The bullet instead hit 13-year-old Orane Williams in the head. Williams, a schoolboy, died: yet another innocent person hit by a police bullet that never should have been fired.

Outraged by the shooting, angry downtown residents staged violent protests. Police brass quickly removed the officer from front-line duty. They soon acknowledged he never should have fired at a suspected petty thief on a crowded street.

But nothing could bring back Williams. For the police it was a further erosion of trust by the people they serve.

Scenarios such as the downtown incident spotlight the need to better train the 7,000-plus cops who confront crime in an admittedly difficult environment. For nnocent civilians and suspects are not the only victims. Eleven cops have been slain in the line of duty this year. This underscores the need for police to receive better training, so they can better protect themselves.

One of the toughest decisions an officer can face is when to shoot – and not to shoot. Now, Jamaica’s police force is taking a big step forward in teaching how to make such split-second decisions. The goal: reduce unnecessary shootings, and help officers stay alive.

The police will soon start using two hi-tech computerised simulators called FATS (for Firearms Training Systems Inc., a private company).

In the United States, hundreds of law enforcement agencies use such simulators, including the FBI and major metropolitan police departments.

The US Embassy’s Narcotics Affairs Section officially turned over two FATS simulators, costing US$101,000, to Jamaica’s Constabulary Force last Friday.

In addition, two Jamaican police officers are now in Atlanta, Georgia, undergoing advanced instructor training at the private company that manufactures the FATS simulator being donated.

“Training is an essential element in upgrading the Jamaican Constabulary Force,” said national security minister Peter Phillips, during hand-over ceremonies at the Police Training Centre in Twickenham Park, St Catherine.

“We have already lost too many (officers) this year in situations where they came under attack. But, equally and perhaps more importantly, this training on the use of firearms is important because of our interest in protecting the citizens of Jamaica.”

Police killed 148 suspected criminals and suspects last year under a variety of circumstances; and 15 officers died in the line of duty. Sixty-seven people have died in police shootings this year. Many of the shootings of police and civilians remain under investigation.

Phillips noted that the policy of the Jamaica Constabulary Force is to use the minimum force required for a given situation.

Better and recurrent firearms training can help achieve this goal, because poorly trained police, ironically, tend to be more trigger-happy, according to law enforcement experts.

“Experience and, indeed, scientific evidence have shown that where people are unsure of their competence in firearms, they are more inclined to use them,” said Phillips.

One of the two simulators is a stationary unit now being used in the Jamaica Constabulary Staff College. The other is a mobile unit and will be taken to police departments throughout Jamaica. One FATS simulator can train about 400 officers in one year. At the same time, Phillips said, the police firing range would be upgraded.

The simulators consist of giant video screens projecting real-life scenarios, and their emphasis is on teaching judgment, not marksmanship.

Up to four officers can stand in front of the screens, holding guns wired up to a computer. As hundreds of different scenarios are played on the screen, officers must make split second decisions about what to do: shoot or don’t shoot, use a baton or chemical spray?

The simulator allows instructors to replace stock video scenarios with local ones using Jamaican actors: such as officers confronting criminals in a busy downtown area.

Police may use their own guns (unloaded) with the simulator or use realistic-looking guns that are provided. These guns can simulate a handgun’s recoil, using a blast of pressurized carbon dioxide gas, supplied by a gas cylinder connected with tiny hoses to the handguns.

In one training scenario, an officer in a patrol car is thrust into a real-life situation played out on the screen: a motor vehicle stop on a dark and desolate road.

The car pulls over. The officer approaches the lone driver, who irritably asks how long the stop will take.

The officer is expected to answer; it’s part of the interactive simulation monitored by an instructor. Slowly, the driver reaches into his glove compartment for his vehicle’s registration…or is it a gun?

If the driver pulls a gun, the officer must shoot. Gunshots crack over a loud speaker as he fires.

The computer shows where the bullets hit; and an instructor grades the officer’s performance, including his verbal exchange with the subject.

A cop flunks if he shoots an innocent driver who pulls out his registration.

Richard H Smyth, the US Embassy’s deputy chief of mission, noted the delivery of the simulators comes amid widespread concern among Jamaicans about the number of police officers being slain, and the number of civilians and suspects being killed by police officers.

In its annual report to the US Congress on human rights around the world, the US State Department noted Jamaica’s police operate in a difficult and violent environment, and are often outgunned by violent criminal gangs. However, the report raised concerns about the number of officers and suspects being killed.

One and a half years ago, some of these issues came up during wide-ranging talks between US officials and Prime Minister PJ Patterson, said Smyth, during an interview with The Observer.

“I guess the real genesis of the (hand-over of the FATS simulators) was a comment by the Prime Minister, who said: ‘We don’t need any help in teaching our officers how to shoot. We need help in teaching them when to shoot.'”

The US and Jamaica are allies in the war on drug trafficking and crime, and the delivery of the two FATS simulators reflects that relationship, said officials.

Phillips said he hoped more simulators eventually would be operating throughout Jamaica, although none have yet been ordered.

“We want to acquire more, to make them available to all of the geographical areas,” he said.