The metropolitan police department (MPD) proposes the development of an evidence-based training in crisis intervention and DE-escalation techniques, focusing on interactions with persons who…

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, D.C. received an $800,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program (CFDA 16.738). The grant will fund the development of an evidence-based training program in crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques, focusing on interactions with individuals experiencing behavioral health or intellectual/developmental disorders. The training will incorporate virtual reality (VR) simulation technology to immerse officers in realistic scenarios. Key activities include procuring the VR system, developing the training curriculum and VR scenarios with research partners at the University of Virginia and The Lab @ DC, and involving a service provider for behavioral health and intellectual/developmental disabilities consumers. The training will be administered to all MPD patrol and public-facing officers, with instructors providing feedback using the VR system's after-action review capabilities. Expected outcomes include reductions in use of force incidents, citizen and police injuries, citizen complaints, and disciplinary actions, as well as increased officer knowledge of de-escalation techniques and responding to crisis situations.

The metropolitan police department (MPD) proposes the development of an evidence-based training in crisis intervention and DE-escalation techniques, focusing on interactions with persons who experience behavioral health (BH) and/or intellectual/developmental disorders (i/DD). The training will incorporate innovative virtual reality (VR) simulation technology that immerses officers in scenarios where they experience realistic scenes and utilize tactics learned in the classroom. Project activities will include a planning phase, during which MPD will procure a VR simulation technology system from v-armed, which emphasizes a team set-up allowing officers to interact during the scenarios. MPD will work with research partners at the university of virginia and the lab @ DC to develop the evidence-based training program and VR scenarios. MBI health services, a service provider for BH and/or i/DD consumers, will participate in the training and scenario development. The research partners will develop an evaluation plan and outcome measures. During the implementation period, the training will be administered to all sworn officers and sergeants assigned to a patrol district or public-facing unit. This will include participation in classroom training and simulation training with the v-armed system. During each training session, instructors will use the v-armed after action review system to provide holistic feedback to participants. Expected outcome measures are a reduction in use of force incidents, citizen and police injuries, citizen complaints, and disciplinary actions; and an increase in knowledge of DE-escalation techniques, responding to crisis scenes, and interacting with BH and/or i/DD consumers. MPD intends to create a VR training model that maximizes training efficiency within the department by utilizing a customized, immersive experiential training.