The police benefited from a four-week training project staged by the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) Information System Services Department as part of the university's outreach project.
More than 560 trained
"We have trained more than 560 persons, ranging from retirees, nurses, taxi operators, teachers and students from three schools in Manchester, and members of the JCF in Area Three in our quest to making Jamaica a more computer-literate society," said Dr Herbert Thompson, president of NCU.
"The university is delighted to be sharing with the members of the security forces in this way as it continues to support the fight against the malignant crime and violence affecting our society."
Thompson said the programme would be expanded to other police divisions.
In expressing gratitude on behalf of his colleagues, Superintendent Ryland Salmon, officer in charge of Manchester, said, "This is a new day for us officers. There are two eras: the dying old and the challenging new. I, therefore, challenge you to continue in this new technological era."
Salmon further stated that there were plans to equip all police guard rooms in area three with a computer by December.
The training, which involved the first batch of officers in region three, focused on a variety of Microsoft computer applications, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher.
The course was also designed to assist the cops to be more efficient in data gathering and assessment as they move towards replacing much of the current book entries with computerised listings.
Customised software
Niccardo Rhoden, director of the university's information systems services and coordinator of the programme, said, "NCU will be developing a customised software for the area three police of the division that will help them to input data and in turn get rid of the manual system of station diaries, and assist in sharing information.
"We will do the software and the networking as well as provide the technical support to the police in the implementation of it," Rhoden added.
The course was conducted by members of the NCU Imagine Cup team of 2005 and 2007 along with personnel from the university's systems department.
Superintendent Ryland Salmon (left) of the Manchester Police Division accepts a certificate from Niccardo Rhoden of Northern Caribbean University.- Contributed