Summary 136 The aim of this thesis was to gain insights into the implementation and application of VR training for police agencies. In current police training practices, police agencies employ scenario-based training to simulate on-duty tasks. While the use of scenario-based training allows trainees to prepare for on-duty situations in training, the organization and delivery of real-life scenariobased training is resource-intensive. Training technologies — particularly Virtual Reality (VR) — present a new training tool for scenario-based training. Immersive VR for police training allows police agencies to simulate a broad range of environments and scenarios without the need for specific training locations or props. In addition, VR allows police trainers to safely integrate vulnerable populations (e.g., children, animals, elderly) and high-risk material (e.g., explosives) in training. Specifically using full-body motion tracking, police officers can move about in the simulated environments and utilize their equipment (e.g., weapon belts) as they would in reallife training and on-duty. Research investigating the efficacy of VR is becoming more prevalent; nonetheless, the evidence on common training standards for the successful use of VR for police training is scarce. The studies presented capture VR police training from an interdisciplinary, context-dependent, and evidence-based perspective. The first study in this thesis (Chapter 2) shows that existing European training practices struggle with the resource intensiveness of real-life scenario-based training and the level of realism they can achieve. Interviewing police trainers and training coordinators of six European law enforcement agencies, results show that training content and resources are regulated by primary authorities such as governmental structures or police executive boards. Thus, implementing new or changing existing training structures requires administrative effort. Additionally, police instructors have to conduct and design training with the resources available to them. The limited availability of recourses such as training time, training facilities, training equipment, and personnel make it difficult for police instructors to design representative training environments. These findings of the current state of European police training are the starting point for examining where VR training may provide opportunities to complement current police training. Chapter 3 addressed police officers’ training responses to VR and real-life training. Police officers of the Dutch National Police executed a real-life scenario-based training and a VR training during which their average and maximum heart rates, and their level of physical activity were measured. After each training, the police officers rated their level of perceived stress and mental effort. Additionally, after the VR training, the police officers rated their sense of presence (i.e., the feeling of truly “being” there in the virtual environment) and provided information on their technology experience (e.g., gaming frequency). The results showed that police officers had a higher level of average physical activity and higher maximum heart rate
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