The Morris County Public Safety Training Academy in Morristown, New Jersey now provides a virtual reality-based training program for the Morris County Poice. The program is intended to help officers hone their use of force decision-making skills.
From the Wired article by Issie Lapowsky:
this system, designed by a company called VirTra, is actually critical in helping police officers hone their skills as decision makers before they’re let out in the real world. Morris County installed the technology last November, smack dab in the middle of one of the most contentious periods in recent history between police and the public. And while Digiralomo, director of the county’s Department of Law and Public Safety, says that wasn’t why the academy bought the roughly $300,000 system, it’s hard not to see the connection.
...
Systems like VirTra’s are designed with just that in mind. “We’re finding there’s a need for cities and national agencies to train at above minimum standards,” says Bob Ferris, CEO and founder of VirTra. “With this new technology, they can better prepare officers for use of force and the life and death situations that often make the headlines.”
While the scenario described in the article isn't quite as cut and dried as this one, one can hope that this type of training can help police make better use of force decisions in the field.
The Virtra Systems[auto-play video enabled] product is one of several used by police departments around the United States.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2015, @10:22AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=214&v=Y6nncquib9A [youtube.com]
(Score: 5, Informative) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Tuesday March 31 2015, @02:47PM
Are they gonna train the racism out of 'em? I don't think so.
What we have on the streets is NOT a training/reaction problem. We have a fear, hate and psychopathology problem.
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2015, @03:01PM
it absolutely is a training problem
when you teach people that 'officer safety' is the overriding concern (as opposed to the safety of bystanders)
what you get is people shooting out of fear, as opposed to shooting only when needed to protect someone
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2015, @10:47AM
Isn't that what Doom's for? Is there any Doom: Dindu Nuffin's edition?
(Score: 4, Funny) by choose another one on Tuesday March 31 2015, @11:01AM
There are cops and not-cops, and the not-cops are painted in different colours so you know which to shoot. Not sure how they could make it any simpler really.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2015, @11:05AM
Things are not so simple. For example, if a policeman would decide to shoot a certain non-white non-cop named Barack Obama, I guess he'd get into deep trouble.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2015, @11:57AM
Yeah, a drunken secret service agent might actually manage to shoot at and hit the policeman afterwards.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2015, @01:46PM
Damn, and I always thought it was:
unarmed -> shoot
armed -> take cover, call for backup
(Score: 5, Funny) by fritsd on Tuesday March 31 2015, @11:21AM
Is anybody else reminded of that scene in the film "Men in Black" where the group of recruits is shooting at dummies or is it just me?
(Score: 5, Informative) by VLM on Tuesday March 31 2015, @11:46AM
The combat pistol championship scene in "Magnum Force" from '73. A classic old movie.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 01 2015, @12:56AM
I think It reminded someone
From TFS:
No. I guess not. You're the only one who would think of that.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2015, @12:39PM
Is the suspect Black?
Is the suspect unarmed?
If the answer is yes to both questions, SHOOT!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2015, @12:48PM
Daily reminder that only white people with guns have agency.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 31 2015, @04:49PM
Daily reminder that only white people with guns have agency.
If the black people with guns are following the same program you might argue the problem is the agency.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31 2015, @05:49PM
>If the black people with guns are following the same program you might argue the problem is the agency.
True, it's a good thing they don't have any and continue the establised behaviour of killing and robbing their fellow black neighboors then. You don't become the largest segment of the population commiting violent crime with agency. I'm sure that fact doesn't affect the way police responds to the transgressions of black individuals in the slightest thought.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Tuesday March 31 2015, @02:10PM
I used to live near Morristown NJ. It's a very nice town, but that's all it is: a town. It might technically qualify as a "small city". It also looks like the kind of place where they probably haven't had an officer-involved shooting in 10 years or more. Using this there probably isn't much more effective than using it in Mayberry.
Let's see them try this training method with the Newark NJ police or the NYPD and see if it improves things there.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bradley13 on Tuesday March 31 2015, @02:30PM
Isn't there a false assumption at work here? Using this kind of system assumes that the police are ready to shoot, and only need to decide whether or not to actually do so. The thing is, for most police that's wrong. Most police, the vast majority of the time, using their weapon shouldn't even be on the radar. The unjustified shootings that make the interwebs are usually situations where the police involved shouldn't have even grabbed their weapon.
Suspect someone of having some weed? Why call in a SWAT team, rather than knocking on the door and serving a warrant? Being charged by the family dog? Meter readers and the post office knows how to deal with dogs without shooting them, why can't the police? Got a report of a kid waving a real-looking gun around? You don't drive up and kill him, before even asking the first question.
Police who do these things don't need another training toy that will let them take their weapons in their hands. They need a complete change of mentality.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Wednesday April 01 2015, @01:17AM
That's what I thought when I read the headline too.
>Virtual Reality Sim Teaches Cops When to Shoot
Hopefully that "when" is never.
But I think it could be done well. Make a visual novel or other conversation style game. You get points for resolving conflicts peacefully. You get more points for helping people than writing them up or arresting them (e.g., helping lost kids). There's a small chance for incidents where lethal force must be used to protect the officer or other people, but lethal force always incurs penalty. If an incident can be resolved peacefully but you use lethal force, you incur a huge penalty.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 2) by GungnirSniper on Tuesday March 31 2015, @04:15PM
Hogan's Alley [wikipedia.org] and similar games have provided "training" for years.
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