Chapter 6 114 and participant characteristics (i.e., gaming frequency) influenced police officers’ experience of mental effort. New and advanced VR systems produce less negative or adverse effects and, due to high fidelity, increase the level of engagement of the user (Buttussi & Chittaro, 2017). Next to technical VR features, the characteristics of the training group itself should be considered. Police officers who reported a high gaming frequency invested less mental effort compared to officers who had little gaming experience. Generally, younger VR users (e.g., police cadets or young officers) are likely to have higher levels of technology affinity and immerse in VR training more easily (Kleygrewe, Hutter, Koedijk, et al., 2023; Liu et al., 2020). Older users, however, may require additional sessions for habituation and more specific introductory tutorials. Hence, VR training and instructional training designs should thus be adjusted to the stage at which it is intended to be implemented (e.g., police academy, continued professional development, etc.). By evaluating current European training practices and training responses to VR and real-life training, Chapter 2 and 3 provide evidence-based results on how VR training can improve and supplement current police training practices. In sum, VR training improves and supplements current police training practices by providing a training tool that: • is not reliant on the availability of standard training resources (e.g., training locations, facilities, props); • allows training to be conducted in safe and controlled (virtual) environments (particularly for high-risk situations like active-shooter incidents or hostage situations); • can simulate a variety of realistic training environments and avatars that are difficult to simulate in real-life training; • gives police a suitable alternative to fulfil training objectives aiming at decision-making and acting, tactical procedures, and de-escalation procedures; • elicits psychophysiological stress and requires police officers to cognitively engage in training (i.e., invest mental effort); • supplements real-life motor skill training (e.g., shooting skills) through a variety of scenarios that can simulate different contexts in which these skills have to be applied. Application of VR Training in Police Practice The application of VR training in police practices refers to the delivery and use of VR as a training technology. For the effective use of VR as a training tool, the training objective should align with the benefits that VR training has to offer. To this end, Chapters 4 and 5 provide evidence on how the application of VR can be enhanced by investigating how drawbacks of VR (e.g., sensory fidelity) can be mitigated and advantages (e.g., objective After-Action Review) can be further maximized.
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