How police are using virtual training to handle real-world challenges
Video gamers have used virtual-reality systems for years to enforce law and order in simulated worlds.
But what is going on now at the Woodridge Police Department is not a game. The department is using virtual reality to save lives and improve how officers do their jobs.
The department’s new Operator XR System will transform how the department prepares its officers, Chief Tom Stefanson said, especially when it comes to meeting state requirements for de-escalation training, or responding to active-shooter situations.
To use the system, officers wear a VR headset that immerses them in a 360-degree environment — unlike older training simulations where they instead faced a large display screen.
The simulator runs officers through a variety of scenarios they could face on the job, from routine vehicle stops to dealing with people in distress and domestic-violence calls. Each scenario has several possible outcomes.
One of the major advantages of the system is that the officers can use their department-issued handguns, or a replica, to build “muscle memory,” according to Stefanson. (Of course, the guns aren’t loaded with bullets. Instead, a compressed-air cartridge device is inserted for dry-fire mode. The recoil remains.)
The department can upload blueprints or other schematics for real buildings in town, including schools, Stefanson said.
“It will give us the best result for everybody,” he said, adding that the VR training is better than sitting through a classroom lecture.
The village ordered the system in February and received it a few weeks ago. Its $104,000 price tag was covered by the department’s share of federal drug forfeiture money.
How it works
The department demonstrated the system for us Monday afternoon.
Up to four officers can participate in a scenario. That’s important, officer Jim Rion said, because typically more than one officer responds to high-stress situations, such as a report of shots fired.
After a simulation is run, the officers and trainer review what occurred. The system records where the officer’s eyes were focused, how they moved, and where their hands were.
In a scenario Rion demonstrated, officers responded to a domestic violence call involving a man armed with a knife. After “entering,” he noticed bloody handprints on a wall. That confirmed his decision to have his gun out, not his Taser, while he searched the house.
All of the department’s officers will go through a two-hour session with the virtual reality trainer.
The system will not replace officers’ required training at a gun range, which Woodridge police do at the state police outdoor range in Joliet. But since the VR trainer is used indoors, it will be available year-round.
No days off
A relaxing day on the beach for a Wheaton police officer and his wife turned into a life-or-death situation last month.
Officer Chris Kelly and his wife, Frankie, were in Fontana, Wisconsin, on July 7 when they noticed a commotion near the shoreline, Wheaton officials said. They soon learned a father had pulled his unresponsive 2-year-old daughter from the water.
Kelly and his wife, a registered nurse, rushed to help, performing CPR and rescue breathing on the toddler until she began showing signs of life. Medics arrived and took the girl to a Milwaukee-area hospital, where she made a full recovery, Wheaton officials said.
On Monday, the Village of Fontana honored the couple for their heroics with the town’s Life-Saving Award.
“The Wheaton Police Department is proud to celebrate the heroic actions of Officer Chris Kelly and his wife, Frankie,” Wheaton police Chief Princeton J. Youker said in a statement. “Their quick thinking saved a young life. Their commitment, on- and off-duty, exemplifies the true spirit of service and community in both policing and health-care professions.”
Faked out
As young adults head back to college this month, it appears at least a few of them are trying to bring some contraband with them ‒ namely, fake IDs.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers based at O’Hare’s International Mail Facility said Wednesday they have seized 40 shipments already this month containing 1,020 counterfeit driver’s licenses from states all over the country.
Officials believe the fake IDs, produced outside the U.S., were intended to be used by underage people trying to purchase alcohol and get into bars.
The IDs were deemed counterfeit based upon the lack of fine line detail, and they exhibit features that are not consistent with the document type.
While underage drinking, especially on a college campus, may not seem a serious crime, customs leaders said the acquisition and use of a fake ID can lead to “more nefarious activity.”
“Some of the major concerns as they relate to fraudulent identity documents include identity theft, worksite enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, fraud linked to immigration-related crimes such as human smuggling and human trafficking, and these documents can be used by those individuals associated with terrorism to minimize their scrutiny undergoing travel screening measures,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the customs bureau’s Chicago office.
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