There are more and more incidents of violence involving knives in Switzerland. The police are therefore preparing for such situations with virtual reality (VR) training.
Teenagers and young adults have been stabbing people more frequently since 2017. Switzerland-wide figures for 2021 are not yet available, but the trend appears to be continuing: "I can confirm the impression that violent offences involving knives have increased in public spaces," said Hanspeter Krüsi from the St. Gallen police force, for example. Young people also say that carrying knives has become normal in some places.
Police forces are now reacting to the increase in violence: "Knives were a key topic in our training sessions with the Zurich city police this year," says Ronny Tobler, who offers virtual reality training for police forces: "This is probably due to the many incidents that have occurred in recent years."
Stapo trains knives in VR training for the first time
Tobler says that he is also asked by other police forces for training in knife situations. "We are working together with several large police forces as part of an intercantonal project."
The Bern Cantonal Police confirmed this on request: "We are also planning a training block with virtual reality in autumn 2022 as part of further training," says spokeswoman Isabelle Wüthrich: "This will focus in particular on threatening situations for police officers, but also other aspects of police work." However, the training is not directly related to knife violence.
The Zurich city police also confirm that knives were part of the VR training this year for the first time: "The participants can be sensitised to the topic in the scenarios," says spokesman Marc Surber.
Training including pain
The VR training is as real as it gets and not just a harmless gimmick. The police officers feel pain through their suits when they are hit." Because the situation is perceived as real, the learning effect is much greater. A wide variety of scenarios can be simulated, says Tobler: "Everything is possible, from life-threatening attacks to domestic violence." The knife is one of several possible means of attack. It is also possible to carry out a detailed follow-up analysis, which is very valuable.
Source: 20 Minutes
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