The National Police Agency has finished installing its first virtual reality (VR) police training systems at seven police departments and institutions across Taiwan to prepare police officers for tense situations in the line of duty.
The VR systems were installed at the New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi County police departments, as well as the Railway Police Bureau, the Taiwan Police College and the First Police Special Corps 6th Corps at the end of last year, costing NT$45 million (US$1.48 million), the agency said.
Although some local police forces had acquired augmented reality (AR) immersive police training systems under a special project launched in 2020, the VR training systems are the first of their kind in Taiwan and offer new training features, the agency said.
Photo: CNA
They require users to wear headsets, while the AR systems, which use projection screens, do not, enabling the simulation of different settings, including karaoke bars, concourses, train carriages and checkpoints.
Through such simulations, officers are trained to be more aware of their surroundings, while having the opportunity to practice their skills and become more familiar with situations that require them to use weapons, which would improve their performance in a crisis, it said.
Trained officers can be prepared for a wide range of scenarios, such as when faced with provocations, threats, attempts to flee or attacks by a suspect, in which they have to respond quickly and appropriately, it said.
The system also enables officers to simulate talking with suspects, choosing from different types of police weapons and deciding when to fire a gun, and it even has a “multiplayer” mode in which multiple officers can train at the same time to provide “backup” for their colleagues.
The renewed emphasis on training for police officers to handle unexpected situations or crises comes after the death of railway police officer Lee Cheng-han (李承翰).
Lee was stabbed in 2019 at the Taiwan Railways Administration Chiayi Station by a passenger riding without a ticket who had an altercation with the conductor before Lee was called to the scene.
Former National Police Agency director-general Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) said in 2020 that in the wake of Lee’s death, the agency was given a budget of NT$480 million to procure and install situational simulation shooting ranges around Taiwan to train police officers to make quick and sound judgements while on duty.
The agency said it intends to purchase more VR training systems to install at other police departments and institutions, and to ask instructors to create virtual settings based on past missions that would make the training more realistic and broaden its scope.
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