The metropolitan community college (MCC) proposal seeks $95,000 in funding from the cops office safer outcomes grant program to implement an innovative virtual reality (VR) training program focused on…

The metropolitan community college (MCC) proposal seeks $95,000 in funding from the cops office safer outcomes grant program to implement an innovative virtual reality (VR) training program focused on DE-escalation, behavioral health crisis response, and officer wellness for campus law enforcement. By integrating scenario-based VR simulations into annual officer training, the program aims to enhance decision-making in high-stress encounters, build trauma-informed response capacity, and strengthen community-police trust on MCC campuses. The MCC campus police officers are first responders to a wide range of behavioral health incidents including suicide threats, substance use crises, and mental health emergencies. These situations require split-second judgment, empathy, and trauma-informed tactics. Yet, traditional training often lacks the realism or frequency to effectively build and reinforce these critical skills. This proposal seeks to address this need.