Virtual Reality is an immersive technology that can be used to enhance traditional training in the law enforcement domain. The trainees are transferred into the virtual environment that allows to train realistic scenarios without facing real-life threats. Thereby, a high learning effect can be achieved. The technology is increasingly accepted in the education and police training sector due to its great potential. Several advantages for the application of VR in police training were identified in studies and workshops with law enforcement professionals.
10 Advantages of Virtual Reality training
- Highly personalized training can be created with VR and adapted according to the individual training levels of the trainees
- VR allows for higher training repetition and improved monitoring of the trainees, which increases the learning effect
- Trainers / instructors receive regular progress reports and can keep track of the performance of the trainees
- Virtual Reality training puts a special focus on the debriefing after training
- Virtual Reality helps to train more versatile police scenarios and to train more often
- Trainees train police interventions realistic settings but without real danger, independent of time and location
- The results can be recorded and analysed in an after action review report, which is particularly helpful for larger training groups
- Virtual environments offer a maximum of experimental control, are easy to iterate and allow new forms of feedback and performance monitoring
- Real-time changes in scenarios can be made by the instructor to increase / decrease the difficulty and stress level
- Persons and items can be placed in the scenario that would be impossible to integrate into real-life training, e.g. children, dogs, bombs, etc.
