NEWBERRYTOWN, Pa. — The Newberry Township Police Department is integrating new technology to help improve police training.
Six months ago, the township purchased a virtual reality simulator with the assistance of state grants. Police Chief Steven Lutz said getting the kits to help with training was a no-brainer.
“When we saw a demo of this product, we were like, ‘Let’s try to get that,'" said Lutz. "Not only will it benefit the officers, it will benefit the community the officers serve in.”
The VR simulator is immersive, allowing users to move around the entire training room. Officers can practice a wide range of real-life scenarios, such as bank robberies, welfare checks, and traffic stops.
“It has a lot of similarities to a game you would play," said Lieutenant Braxton Ditty. “No two scenarios are exactly the same and no two 911 calls are ever exactly the same that they handle.”
Lieutenant Ditty added the simulator is a great tool to allow officers to practice a variety of policing tactics, including de-escalation.
“We’ve heard over the last few years that police officers need to get better at their human relation skills, talking to people, de-escalating situations," said Lt. Ditty. "This is a tool for us to be able to do that and practice over and over.”
At any point in an officer's shift, they can use the simulator to practice real-life calls before going back out into the community. Chief Lutz believes this will make his officers more prepared.
“We can correct issues here," said Chief Lutz. "But once they’re on the street, we can’t correct the issues because they already occurred.”