Bridging the Experience Gap in Law Enforcement: The Role of Innovative VR Training
By Jason Silva, Sales Manager, OperatorXR
There is a reality that law enforcement is dealing with in our time that goes beyond just the issue of recruitment and retention. A tumultuous period began in 2020 and we have seen a steady exodus of a key law enforcement group, the front-line supervisors and senior officers. These are the senior sergeants who for years, maybe decades, either refused to test for the next rank or their administration didn’t want them too, yet they are respected by the rank & file and irreplaceable. Next, we have that senior officer who knows their beat better than anyone, can handle any call, knows policy like the back of their hand and who also never wanted to promote, or their administration made it clear they wouldn’t.
Some reading this may think this is a good thing, that it was time to move on from that generation, however, how many paused to think about the impact on the new, inexperienced officers coming in? In many cases, I’d say no, and it shows. The results of this movement can be measured in several categories, officer involved shootings, use of force complaints and injuries to officers to name a few. Is this the only reason for increases, no, but it is absolutely a significant contributing factor and I know this from personal experience having seen it at my former department. People can debate this every which way till Sunday and never come away with a solution. So, what is a solution, more talk and debate? Department policy that is based upon a knee jerk reaction to one incident? Debate and policy have their place, but we need to bridge the gap between the problem and a solution.
We need tools, proper tools built for a specific task and placed in the hands of the few that are trying to bridge that gap, the reluctant leaders who see a problem and take it upon themselves to fix. Every department will have people on their staff who think outside of the box, but not every department has the tool(s) to enable them.
There is no getting around the fact that this incoming generation is more tech savvy. They have grown up surround by tech, experienced the giant leaps in capabilities and most importantly, adapted to them. This is something I saw clear as day at NYTACOPS at the OperatorXR booth. Young cops, putting on the headsets for the first time and literally diving in, running through scenarios (even running the system themselves) and encouraging their supervisors to do the same. Afterwards, I would sit back and listen to their conversations as they rattled off use cases and recent incidents they could use as training simulations. At that time, OperatorXR hadn’t even officially launched in the US and my mind was spinning at the thought of what can be accomplished with this tech. One thing my dad said to me at the end of his 46-year career in law enforcement was, “I wish I was a rookie today, the amount of technology for the job is incredible.” That was in 2011.
OperatorXR is not just another company offering “off the shelf” VR training that has been adapted for law enforcement and military applications, in fact, it’s the other way around. End users, operators from the highest tier and law enforcement professionals, who at their core are problem solvers have developed a tool that addresses this experience and generational gap.
The company, led by its founder, Wayne Jones, sought out the best and most talented engineering team, simulation builders, VR experts and a commercial team that are veteran operators and former police officers. The result is a tool that is so flexible, customizable and portable that it’s value cannot be underestimated.
Operator XR is a tool that doesn’t just check the box for de-escalation training required by the department. It immerses the users into an environment to test use of force policy before it is implemented, trainers can evaluate current policy, or create scenarios based upon critical incidents that have impacted their own department. Operator XR’s authoring tools mean end users have the ability to create a number of scenarios on their own, without a software developer. You are not restricted by hardware limitations, there is no need for tracking cameras or green screens, tethered headsets, powerful PC’s built into backpacks, unrealistic weapons or weapon manipulation, tailored to specific accoutrements, or the need to be connected to the internet.
Operator XR's 2 person Law Enforcement training system
The recent idea and implementation of social workers or non-sworn personal responding/co-responding to calls for service deemed by department policy to not warrant a police response has created a new set of issues and training challenges. Operator XR can be used to co-train for these calls. Now the officers and non-sworn personal can train multiple people in VR at the same time, in an environment designed specifically for the needs of that department. With this tool the city now can cross train sworn and non-sworn at the same time with unlimited amounts of scenarios. As demonstrated at NYTACOPS and in partnership with Aerometrex the system can even recreate areas of the city using real world imagery, any time of day, and additional distractions commonly found during calls for service.
The department can now have the exact school, office building, government building, corrections facility all built in VR for any training that can be thought of. Combined with live firearm integration and realistic accoutrements, leads to a product that is unmatched in the market. This is simply because the system was designed by end users that understand what important training outcomes are, not by an engineering team making assumptions.
The above is only half of what the system brings to the table. In the next article I will cover OP-1, the tactical trainer which allows for active shooter training and response, CQB training, force on force with up to 8 participants at the same time.
For more information about Operator XR OP-1 LE please visit www.operatorxr.com/law-enforcement or book a demo here.