NEW YORK, NY March 02, 2007 —By the numbers, New York City's Police Department has never been more effective. Homicides are down dramatically from 30 years ago and crime continues to drop, even as the Department has 4,000 fewer officers.

But while it does more with less, the fatal shooting of Sean Bell last November has critics charging that the department has not learned from previous civilian shootings. WNYC's Bob Hennelly took a look at how the Police department trains and learns.

Part 1: How The Police Learn