New Mexico Police Officers Benefit from Virtual Reality Training

As police departments around the country respond to scrutiny for their use of force, New Mexico police departments are trying something different to stay out of the spotlight. They’re using virtual reality to train their officers. In Los Alamos (New Mexico), a city known for its technology, will now be known for their police department's utilization of new technology. On Monday, the Los Alamos Police Department showcased their new Apex Officer virtual reality training program.

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VR in use by New Mexico law enforcement agencies.

Although Los Alamos hasn’t had a murder since 2009, and officer-involved shootings are rare, they believe their Apex Officer virtual reality program will pay off.

“To be able to work everything from crisis intervention training to escalation, de-escalation training, active shooter situations. Essentially, we have an unlimited amount of possibilities with this system,” says Sgt. Chris Ross with the Los Alamos Police Department.

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LAPD's New VR Training Simulator

All 35 of LAPD police officers have gone through the virtual reality training and will continue to utilize the system every few months with refresher courses. “We’re always trying to get better in law enforcement. We are constantly out there trying to improve and this technology is going to give us that ability to improve our services that we’re offering to the community that we’re out there interacting with,” said Sgt. Ross. Learn more about how Los Alamos Police Department succeeds with Apex Officer in the Los Alamos PD x Apex Officer Case Study.

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“They can change what that suspect is doing based upon what the officer is doing immediately. So, if the officer is saying the right things when it comes to a crisis intervention, he can de-escalate it. If the officer is saying the wrong things, he can escalate the situation and then get that positive feedback right afterwards,” said Sgt. Ross.

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This article was originally shared by KRQE's in an article titled: Los Alamos police implementing virtual reality de-escalation training.

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Conclusion

We hope that you enjoyed this resource and learning more about how our Apex Officer training simulator can help your police department. We're ready to bring the future of law enforcement training to your agency, and we are ready to provide you with a free product demonstration. Simply follow the link and complete the short form to schedule your Apex Officer product demonstration today.

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