Professional police organisations are always on the lookout for means to increase their efficacy and community trust. Discussions about racial profiling erode trust, while the practice itself is a threat to effective police work. ScopicLabs made it their mission to help police officers to become more aware of their personal strengths and weaknesses, including their biases, so they can be (even) better cops.
what we do
VR trainer
ScopicLabs offers a training that stimulates constant introspective learning and personal development. Interactive Branching Scenarios are used in film realistic Virtual Reality (VR) to allow participants to change the narrative of the story. Afterwards they discuss the logic of their decisions in groups. We use the diversity in choices and motivations to make participants aware about ineffective police practices, while motivating them to explore new ones, that are consistent with the organization’s policy. Today’s discussions about unconscious bias and racial profiling are ingrained in this training.
Aside from academic research, the efficacy of the training can be assessed through anecdotes from participants and police team leaders. Read and listen here to what they have to say.
"To combat ethnic profiling, we have organised a Virtual Reality training. Now, we can train in Virtual Reality to perceive and assess without prejudice, based on real-life practical situations."
Police chief-commissioner // Martin Sitalsing
“We have now trained 1,300 police personnel using VR training. When considering the cost per participant, it can be estimated as equivalent to a few hours of parking."
Police chief Antwerpen // Serge Muyters
Validation
Does it work?
To ensure the academic validation of our product, we collaborated with multiple institutions and experts. The collective effort resulted in significant research findings, highlighting the effectiveness and value of our product.
Higher participation rates with VR
Bias can discourage individuals from actively participating in learning, resulting in the avoidance of essential activities and a lack of compliance with policies. However, virtual reality stands out as a promising solution because it captures higher officer participation rates, thanks to its novelty and the intrinsic enjoyment it offers.
360° VR video trainings go beyond traditional 2D trainings on smartphones. They help promote a positive attitude towards the topic of ethnic profiling.
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