JCF to save big on ammo with new firearms simulator
THE JAMAICA Constabulary Force (JCF) should soon be flooded with top marksmen and women, courtesy of the United States Embassy’s donation of a firearms simulator, which National Security Minister Robert Montague suggested could save the country big bucks on bullets.
Along with the firearms simulator, a defensive-driving simulator and 200 patrol bicycles were also included in the package, which was handed over to the JCF on Wednesday at the National Police College of Jamaica in Twickenham Park, St Catherine.
A number of lawmen have also been trained as instructors in each of the areas, a gift for which Montague has expressed gratitude to the US Embassy.
“The value of this support to the JCF cannot be overstated. Along with the support to transportation, we are also being provided with a firearm training simulator system. This will help our officers to shoot straighter and more accurately. It will save the country because fewer bullets will be used,” Montague stressed.
REAP RESULTS
He tasked Acting Commissioner Novelette Grant with the responsibility of ensuring that the donations reap results.
“Madam Acting Commissioner and members of the JCF, I encourage you all to make full use of these resources and to manage them well, as we know you can and will do. We must ensure that the investments being made in the capacity of the JCF provide real returns in the form of a greater reduction in crime and the creation of a safer and more secure environment for our citizens,” the minister stated.
Both air-conditioned simulator booths are located side by side at the facility, and recruits who encounter difficulties on the range will be recommended for a visit to the firearms simulator.
Those who are being trained as drivers will spend a lot of time in the driving booth.
The bicycles are expected to improve the force’s community-policing efforts, a type of policing Grant has regularly stressed as being crucial to restoring law and order to the country.