The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office Situational Training and Response Simulator, also known as the STARS Facility, located in Freehold, is a premier training facility used by our public safety partners in Monmouth County and throughout the State of New Jersey. The facility provides de-escalation training for Basic Police Recruits to Veteran Police Officers.

Through the Apex Officer training platform officers are fully immersed in a virtual reality situation with head gear, a backpack and other accessories. As soon as officers suit up they forget they are in a training room and instead are virtually placed inside the crisis situation to which they are responding. Another officer creates the scenarios, with characters, and, is able to change the narrative at any moment. The variety of scenarios are endless ranging from traffic stops to domestic calls to active shooter situations. Officers conduct a debriefing at the end of each scenario.

“The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office is in the forefront when it comes to cutting edge technology, and, it is our priority that members of law enforcement receive the highest level of training possible,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden. “We are proud to be the first to deploy this new virtual reality innovative training equipment in NJ, which is aimed to ensure officers are performing at their best. It enables officers to develop skills and de-escalation techniques, in a controlled environment, when split second decisions need to be made. ” All Monmouth County Police Academy recruits will be trained on the new equipment at the Situational Training And Response Simulator Facility in Freehold, along with officers throughout Monmouth County and beyond. The Monmouth County Sheriff Office remains the only agency in NJ to have a dedicated building for virtual reality and hands on training, with the Apex Officer being its latest initiative.