Virtual reality training drops cops into tense situations

Victoria Police is trialling a virtual reality training system which places officers in simulated life-or-death ­situations.

Constable Jonah Carey and Constable Alannah Lewis during visual reality (VR) simulation training.

Victoria Police is trialling a virtual reality training system which places officers in simulated life-or-death ­situations.

Officers have been undergoing the training at the force’s academy in Glen Waverley since April.

Trainees are kitted with goggles and replica guns before they are immersed in a virtual reality world which looks similar to a video game.

Officers are then put through their paces in a series of “dangerous” ­scenarios.

Those scenarios include a siege which takes place in a city venue where several people have been taken hostage by armed captors.

Another scenario involves a hostile vehicle being driven towards the officers at high speed in a narrow CBD laneway.

The VR training system at the Victoria Police Academy at Glen Waverley.

Confronting a knife-wielding man in an apartment littered with extremist flags and literature is another, while officers are also put to the test dealing with an incident on a busy Bolte Bridge.

Superintendent Ross McNeill told the Sunday Herald Sun the pilot training scheme was proving a valuable tool.

“The Americans use it a fair bit and the UK police forces use this type of thing,” he said.

“You can understand how they ­(officers) will react in certain ­circumstances.

“A lot of this technology has come from the gaming world.

“It has been going for four months and we are going to continue with phase two of the pilot.”

What the officers see, hear and react to is controlled by an instructor behind a computer screen.

Each training session is recorded, giving officers the chance to analyse their actions.

Inspector Paul O’Loughlin told the Police Association Journal that the new training plugged a crucial gap, which helped inexperienced officers.

“It bridges the gap in terms of things that are too dangerous to replicate in real life … you see very strong physical and emotional reactions from students … and that allows them to actually get practice at making justifiable decisions under that sort of critical ­incident stress, where there is a perceived real threat to their life,” he said.

Probationary Constables Jonah Carey and Alannah Lewis recently took part in the training.

“I was apprehensive because it was so real,” Ms Lewis said.

“My heart was racing. I was a bit sweaty. I definitely noticed the physical side of it.”