Valdosta State University PD Combines Virtual Reality with Traditional Teaching in its Use of Force Laboratory

Valdosta State University Police Department (VSUPD) has integrated conventional and technological teaching techniques in their Use of Force Lab to develop a virtual reality simulator to train local officers, the Valdosta Daily Times reports.

VSUPD’s Use of Force Lab combines a matted floor for defensive tactics, InVeris’ FATS 100P for screen-based virtual marksmanship training, and InVeris’s SURVIVR virtual reality simulator to enable officers to practice responding to real-world emergency situations, including de-escalation situations involving persons with mental illness and active shooter events.

The virtual reality simulator delivers significant savings over time and ammunition expenses while training officers in a secure and controlled environment.

What sets apart VSUPD’s Use of Force lab is its off-site control room and dispatch training facility, which allows dispatchers to receive stress training similar to officers in the scenario.

The University System of Georgia (USG) mandates that officers attend one hour of judgmental use of force training each year, which the lab now surpasses by providing at least eight hours of training using InVeris’ SURVIVR virtual reality simulator system.

The Use of Force Lab will help not only VSUPD produce better-trained officers but will also help surrounding agencies increase their professional standard.