Anchorage police to incorporate virtual reality into training with emphasis on de-escalation

Lt. Marc Patzke gives a circuit of an indoor weapon scope astatine nan Anchorage Police Department Training Center connected Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

The Anchorage Police Department is buying a virtual reality strategy to supplement its officers’ training pinch an accent connected de-escalation. 

The Anchorage Assembly approved nan federally funded contract connected Tuesday for up to $202,000. The vendor is simply a Toronto-based startup called ChimeraXR. It markets its products arsenic “modern, realistic and immersive tactical training systems.” 

To beforehand its usage for de-escalation training, ChimeraXR posted this video to its societal media accounts. 

It shows nan first-person position of personification wearing a VR headset, and it looks for illustration a video game. Chimera says nan script was based connected a existent constabulary brushwood successful 2022 involving a suicidal man. The virtual de-escalation doesn’t spell well, and nan personification ends up shooting nan man.

The Anchorage Police Department is moving guardant pinch buying these virtual reality headsets pinch simulations for illustration this arsenic it’s under scrutiny for its ain constabulary shootings, seven since mid-May. But that timing is conscionable coincidental. The national assistance for APD’s VR strategy was created arsenic a consequence of federal authorities stemming from George Floyd’s killing astatine nan hands of Minneapolis constabulary successful 2020. 

Police departments across nan country, including nan Alaska State Troopers, person besides turned to virtual reality successful caller years to train officers for real-life scenarios. 

Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said his agency has demoed galore systems, including ChimeraXR’s. To train connected usage of force, he said his agency chiefly uses a strategy made by a institution called VirTra. Instead of headsets, that strategy uses large screens that wrap astir nan trainees. 

Lt. Marc Patzke useful astatine APD’s training center, and he worked connected the city’s national assistance proposal to nan U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services that it won successful 2022, and other steps that led up to nan statement pinch ChimeraXR.

The Justice Department says nan strategy can’t beryllium utilized solely for tactical firearms training aliases use-of-force training. It must fresh into a larger programme that covers de-escalation, implicit bias and nan work to intervene erstwhile different serviceman uses excessive force. Patzke said those elements are continually reinforced successful training for caller and knowledgeable officers. 

“We’re gonna babe measurement it into our training to benignant of spot wherever it fits, wherever it does well, and wherever it comes up short,” he said. “And truthful a small spot of that’s going to beryllium experimentation connected our part, right? And our first accuracy is we tin usage it successful nan constabulary academy during our reality-based training blocks, what we mention to arsenic RBT.”

Lt. Marc Patzke successful his agency astatine APD Training Center successful Anchorage connected Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

New hires commencement disconnected pinch astir six months of training astatine nan department’s constabulary academy. Patzke said reality-based training is cardinal truthful they create a scope of due reactions to different group successful different scenarios, which includes de-escalation. 

It requires a batch of repetition. 

“Practicing that accomplishment successful a virtual situation aliases successful a existent situation is really you really ingrain that accomplishment into their occupation set,” Patzke said. 

Right now, they’re chiefly done live, successful person.

“And that’s a very labour intensive type of training, because we request domiciled players, we request volunteers,” he said. 

The virtual reality strategy that APD is buying tin thief trim nan labour and logistics, and make many times moving circumstantial scenarios easier, Patzke said. He said nan section wants a strategy pinch 4 headsets that tin run simultaneously successful nan aforesaid scenario, truthful officers tin activity together. Chimera besides offers replica guns and Tasers nan strategy tin track. 

“Is it going to lick each our problems? Absolutely not,” Patzke said. “It’s conscionable 1 much instrumentality successful our toolbox, 1 much point we tin attempt. And if it’s unproductive, past we don’t person to usage it. There’s nary instruction to usage it. So I deliberation it provides america a batch of benefits for nary cost, for very small risk.”

He said nan strategy tin besides beryllium utilized to create scenarios to fresh a fixed training request successful augmented reality – that is, adding virtual elements to existent spaces – aliases successful wholly virtual environments.

“So we tin create nan scenarios,” Patzke said. “Our instructors tin do voice-overs successful their caput and beryllium domiciled players if they request to.”

After nan constabulary academy, trainees person different 5 months of section training earlier they’re connected their own. 

“The first clip you’re a constabulary serviceman and you do a postulation stop, it is terrifying for nan personification we’re pulling over, but it’s besides terrifying for that serviceman to person that first clip they’re really doing thing successful nan field,” Patzke said. “So arsenic overmuch arsenic we tin trim that stress, springiness them immoderate patterned responses they tin usage that are professional, polished, make them much comfortable successful nan field, past hopefully we’ll get a amended merchandise successful nan community.”

Patzke doesn’t cognize what nan timeline is yet for incorporating nan strategy into APD’s training. Next steps see finalizing nan contract, bringing ChimeraXR present and training nan trainers.