'Try our jobs' say armed police

Armed officers have to make instant decisions

Police marksmen from Scotland Yard's specialist firearms unit are to offer people a chance to see for themselves how difficult their jobs can be.

People will test how they would respond in a typical firearms scenario by using laser guns in a video simulation.

The test is part of the training plan for specialist CO19 firearms teams.

Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghafur said it was important for people to experience a realistic scenario, rather than one fuelled by TV and film images.

In the exercise, participants, working in pairs, have to decide whether to shoot armed suspects.

Split-second decisions

Sometimes, if they chose not to, the video runs on to show the suspect shooting an innocent member of the public.

The idea is to replicate the split-second decision making process firearms officers go through when confronted by someone wielding a gun.

Afterwards, participants are asked to recall information about the scenario to show how difficult it is to accurately remember simple details in such a fast-paced and stressful environment.

Senior officers frequently try to highlight the pressure of firearms work, where a decision taken in a fraction of a second can have life or death consequences and where the ramifications can last for years.

The Met's firearms unit has been in the spotlight for the past 18 months following the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Tube station and the controversial Forest Gate raid, in which an unarmed man was shot in the shoulder.