Victoria Police using hi-tech centre to combat terrorists and crazed attackers
POLICE are stepping up training to combat would-be terrorists and crazed attackers. A hi-tech centre is recreating active shooter and siege situations.
VIC News
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POLICE are stepping up training to help combat would-be terrorists and crazed attackers with a state-of-the-art centre.
The centre — at Victoria Police’s Glen Waverley academy — uses virtual reality-style technology to recreate active shooter and siege situations.
Dozens of cameras give a 360 degree view of every aspect to monitor how officers handle stress, their leadership and their thinking.
International law enforcement agencies including the FBI and the UK’s Ministry of Defence Police use the same system.
Sen-Sgt Stephen Pope, in charge of training exercises at the Hydra simulation centre, told the Sunday Herald Sun it ranked among the best worldwide.
“It’s that real-world scenario without the real-world consequence and provides a ‘safe to fail’ environment for officers,’’ Sen-Sgt Pope said.
“We are trying to create that emotional response — the pressures of making those critical decisions — especially those so called devil’s choices.”
About 600 police across all levels each year train at Hyrda.
Scenarios can take different paths depending on officer’s decisions.
Participants are allocated to one of five “syndicate” rooms where they must choose how to deal with pressing situations including sieges, active shooters, homicide investigations and bushfires.
Some exercises run for days.
Real-life information like police radio communication, phone calls from senior command and media inquiries are “injected” into the situation as officers decide how to best proceed.
Participants are monitored in a control room featuring more than three dozen screens where scenarios can be instantly changed.
Officers later converge in a main room where they must explain their actions.
“We have the ability to either slow or speed the exercise up or down,’’ Sen-Sgt Pope said.
“They are constantly required to operate in areas of ambiguity and uncertainty with biases and assumptions inserted into the exercises to cloud their decision making.
“It might be a case that if you do something there may be a bad outcome and if you don’t do
something there may also be a non-favourable outcome.
“In Hydra we say not making a decision is still a decision.
“There are still consequences and accountabilities to doing nothing.”
It’s hoped the training will better prepare police should they be confronted with situations such as Sydney’s Lindt siege, terror attacks like those seen overseas, potentially dangerous pursuits or major catastrophises like January’s Bourke St rampage.
Hydra was originally designed to help police and fire services in the UK deal with critical incidents.
Sen-Sgt Pope said policing had become more unpredictable.
“The community expects police to make tough decisions and Hydra provides that platform in a safe environment,’’ he said.