Continuing a longstanding partnership, the UCCS College of Public Service (CPS) and the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) have launched the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Virtual Reality (VR) Training Initiative, using VR to help improve Adult Parole and Community Supervision training.
Established with an $800,000 grant from the BJA, the training offers an immersive, 360 degree way for Community Parole Officers (CPOs) to practice their response to challenging situations and improve safety measures and decision making. UCCS researchers will evaluate the training and pair their findings with officer feedback and case-management data to further refine their resources for real-world situations.
“Our priority is the safety of our staff and the communities we serve,” said Andre Stancil, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, in the CDOC press release. “By focusing this VR grant on Parole, we are ensuring our officers can practice navigating complex human interactions and challenging situations in a safe, virtual space. This technology allows our staff to refine their professional judgment in a way that protects both the officer and those under supervision, and the public.”
“This partnership between UCCS and CDOC demonstrates the power of combining cutting-edge research with real-world practice to strengthen officer preparedness and enhance safety,” said CPS Dean Wells in the press release. “By leveraging immersive virtual reality training and rigorous field evaluation, we are helping ensure officers are equipped with effective de-escalation strategies while advancing our shared mission to improve outcomes in the field. The results of this collaborative, applied research will benefit CDOC and other states.”