The hamilton county sheriffs office (hcso) is the primary law enforcement agency for four villages and eight townships that total approximately 142 square miles and 138,500 residents in hamilton…

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) received a $780,576 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (CFDA 16.738). The grant will fund the delivery of de-escalation training, based on the Police Executive Research Forum's Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics curriculum, across HCSO's patrol division. Additionally, the agency will incorporate an immersive virtual reality (VR) component to enhance the scenario-based training aspects and improve retention of the material. HCSO has partnered with the University of Cincinnati to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of the VR training supplement. The grant period runs from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2026.

The hamilton county sheriffs office (hcso) is the primary law enforcement agency for four villages and eight townships that total approximately 142 square miles and 138,500 residents in hamilton county, OH (plus ancillary services to the entire county). Hcso plans to deliver DE-escalation training, based on the police executive research forums integrating communications, assessment, and tactics, curriculum across its patrol division in order to improve outcomes during police-citizen encounters. Further, hcso seeks to amplify the training by adding an immersive virtual reality (VR) component to enhance its scenario-based training aspects and sustain retention of training material and improved outcomes. In order to assess the VR training components efficacy and advance evidence-based policing, hcso has partnered with the university of cincinnati to rigorously evaluate the VR supplement.