MONROE COUNTY, N.Y. — Road patrol deputies in Monroe County have a new way to train for possible scenarios they may encounter when responding to a call: virtual reality.
There is traditional training at the police academy and beyond but now, all deputies in Monroe County are getting more practice in possible scenarios in a virtual world too.
The simulations help build confidence, “because of the number of reps you can get, and how many times you can get into a program, the simulations, it just builds confidence,” explains Sgt. Jason Hendel of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
The training includes live action type scenarios, tactical clearance, weapon transitions, and handgun training. There’s also a program that helps teach how to better talk with possible suspects. “One of the newer ones is an interview and interrogation type application where it’s got an AI base to it,” Sgt. Hendel says.
News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke watched as a deputy went through several training exercises.
In the first scenario, the deputy responds to a call for trespass with a weapon. “As an instructor, we can also control is the customer going to be cooperative or are they going to be more defensive or even argumentative so that way we can give them different challenges with the AI,” Sgt. Hendel explains. In that scenario, the suspect does as she’s asked.
But in the next scenario, the suspect is combative. The deputy tries to talk him down, but the situation escalates quickly.
There are real instructors running the VR training and they debrief with each deputy after every session.
The sheriff’s office also uses the technology to practice scenarios in which a Taser can be used. To do that training in real life would be a lot more expensive. “We can’t shoot 100 rounds of Taser, so to actually do it in VR, the cost savings… it’s roughly about a quarter million dollars we save and we’re getting that training because we’re not spending the money on the real ammunition itself,” Sgt. Hendel says.
Other local departments are expanding their use of VR training too, hoping to expose cops to as many situations as they can before those situations become a reality.
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