Zurich City Police immerses itself in the virtual world

On 31 October 2019, the Zurich City Police, together with the Thurgau Cantonal Police, organised a workshop on digital learning and training systems in Zurich. All those responsible for training in the Swiss police corps and those from neighbouring countries were invited to attend. Five companies presented digital learning and training systems to around 70 participants. Among other things, three virtual reality systems and "accessories" were presented. Accessories include, for example, a glove that electronically records every movement of a hand and transmits it in detail to a computer.

Training police officers in VR

The view into the future goes even further. Together with a specialised Zurich company - namely trueVRsystem - the Zurich City Police developed its own VR scenario, which is used to train various actions and reactions with different sequences that can occur in front-line service. It is planned to train all police officers with this VR system in the near future. Various operational skills and networked thinking will be deepened and tested. The operational skills include communication, perception and behaviour, law, tactics, personal safety and shooting.

Up close in action

With the new system, which is currently undergoing ongoing development, you can immerse yourself completely in the realistic virtual world and experience the missions up close. Instructors also have the opportunity to assess events from all perspectives (including a bird's eye view) and give participants appropriate feedback on their operational behaviour. This also allows stressful situations to be simulated and practised 1:1.

Following the successful training and feedback from around 1,000 municipal police officers, it will be examined whether the path to the virtual future should be pursued further.

According to the City of Zurich Police, it is also planned that interested media representatives will be able to familiarise themselves with and experience the system towards the end of the internal training; this would of course also be exciting for the general public.

Source: City of Zurich