The Potential of Virtual Reality for Police Training Under Stress

Abstract

To prepare for critical incidents on duty, police officers need to acquire the skills and tactics in realistic environments so that they transfer to high-stress circumstances. To bridge the gap between empirical research and applied practice, the present chapter informs about training concepts within the ecological dynamics framework that effectively promotes performance under stress. Specifically, scenario-based police training is critically discussed by identifying research gaps and challenges in the current practice. Virtual reality (VR) is introduced as a promising tool to overcome these challenges in police training and research. The aim of the present chapter is to inform, update, and improve researchers', police trainers', and curriculum developers' knowledge of VR as a tool to address the need for representative stress training while acknowledging its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Sound of the Police—Virtual Reality Training for Police Communication for High-Stress Operations

“…This trend towards VR as a training tool can be observed within the domain of training for first responders generally, including law enforcement [11,12], fire departments [13], medical experts [14], and first responders to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) incidents [15,16]. It is particularly valued as an effective tool for training in professions where mistakes in real-life situations can pose a grave threat to individuals and potentially result in loss of life [15,17,18].…”

“…However, realistic training is fundamental to preparing police officers for high-stress situations because it is the only way to ensure that the skills learned can also be called upon in real operations [28]. Furthermore, current training is minimal in terms of feedback and reflection options [11]. However, feedback is elementary for reflection in the course of deployment training [29].…”

“…In addition, the improvements in affordability of VR are a positive factor [10]. Although the initial costs of the equipment are high, the content of the scenarios and the local relocation can be orchestrated very cost-effectively [11].…”

“…According to the literature, realistic training scenarios are needed to ensure adequate preparation for real police operations [5,11,28]. This includes the highly complex and stressful nature of police operations [5,28], as well as the inclusion of realistic and ideally inter-agency teams, as they occur in real operations [1].…”

Police Killings: Road Map of Research Priorities for Change

“…Virtual reality has recently emerged as an innovative approach to providing officers realistic training scenarios. Though the efficacy of virtual reality training has not been extensively studied and the approach is not widespread, recent work demonstrates that it has the potential to more cost-effectively simulate realistic and stressful conditions for officers during training sessions (Giessing, 2021). A recent exploratory study on realistic virtual training on firearms and tactics with a small number of participants found that officers thought that virtual training was a useful method (Comiskey et al, 2021).…”