Starting in 2020, VirTra partnered with Critical Incident Review (CIR) to provide law enforcement officers with opportunities to attend specific CIR classes for free. VirTra understands that modern training is critical and is working to deliver it to as many individuals as possible! The course, “Enhanced Force Investigations; Applying Science, Evidence-Based Methods & the Cognitive Interview”, occurs multiple times each year in a variety of states, in order to spread it to departments nationwide.
To help spread awareness and training for all, VirTra is sponsoring two seats per class. Meaning, officers who apply are in the running for free tuition! For the remainder of 2021, classes with sponsorship registration still open are:
- October 12th – 14th, Maineville, Ohio
- November 9th – 11th, Tempe, Arizona
This course covers Human Factors and limitations, the use of “video evidence”, the highly effective cognitive interview technique, and employing an investigative analysis of an officer-involved in a critical incident. Officers who successfully complete this course will earn a certification in the development of Enhanced Force Investigations and the Cognitive Interviewing Process.
Learn more about CIR’s class and VirTra’s sponsorship in the video below.
If you are a law enforcement officer and can benefit from this form of training, please click here to apply for an upcoming sponsorship.
Everyone has experienced a stressful situation before, even those outside of the law enforcement field. Stress can be caused by a verbal argument, a heavy workload at your job or even a traffic jam on the way home. Stress and its influence on arousal are two factors that can greatly influence your performance on the job, particularly as a law enforcement officer during a force encounter.
Both stress and arousal can help or hinder various aspects of performance, but the two are not the same. Stress can occur when the perceived demands of an event exceed one’s perceived ability to meet those demands. Stress is expressed physical arousal in the form of increased heart rate, blood pressure and breathing patterns. Too much stress can limit one’s ability to recall an event.
The purpose of arousal, is the act of stimulating readiness. Your senses become “prepared” to the point of perception. It affects the regulation of consciousness, attention and alertness. In fact, the common “fight, flight and freeze” responses are initiated by arousal.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law
The Yerkes-Dodson Law specifically relates to arousal and is characterized by its “Inverted U” graph. This law “suggests that there is a relationship between performance and arousal” (Cherry, 2020). Lower arousal is better for cognitive tasks, while high arousal is better for strength and endurance-related events. Essentially, arousal can improve performance, but if arousal climbs too high, it can begin to hinder it. As the graph above shows, there is an apex where peak performance can be achieved.
So how does this relate back to the law enforcement field? It is important to know how stress affects you personally and how it can compound with arousal, and the best way to find out is during training sessions. Higher arousal can affect perception; it allows people to focus on pieces of events that the brain deems important to survival, but it does so at the detriment to other parts of the event. By practicing in a VirTra police training simulator, you can learn how stress and arousal contribute to your memory of events and performance. Training tools that induce stress such as the Threat-Fire® can provide stress and consequences within a safe environment, letting you learn to work through situations under pressure.
To learn more about human factors, customers have free access to the Human Factors in Force Encounters V-VICTA™ curriculum. This IADLEST-certified course includes a lesson plan, slide show presentation, course materials and more to teach officers the science behind our reactions during force encounters. Additionally, the content was authored by not only VirTra’s in-house subject matter experts, but based on the ground breaking work of Force Science Institute’s Executive Director and Co-Founder Dr. William Lewinsky.
To learn how to get this content, please contact a product specialist.
References
Cherry, K. (2020, May 10). The Yerkes-Dodson Law and Performance. Retrieved from Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-yerkes-dodson-law-2796027
Law Enforcement Events Being Captured
There is a very concerned societal focus on police use of force encounters. These events are increasingly being captured on law enforcement body cameras and then quickly distributed for all to see. The nature of being human makes the viewing of any type of violence hard to watch. It invokes an emotional response that is very visceral and compelling. It has created a “call to action” that has many saying that we have to do something…anything.
Evaluating Events of Law Enforcement Officers
To properly evaluate these events, they have to be looked at not only within the legal framework that ties our society together but also from the human factors that critically influence how these events play out. There are organizations like the Force Science Institute (Dr. Bill Lewinski) and researchers like Tom Hontz (deceased), Dr. Joel Suss, Dr. Roger Enoka, Christopher Heim, and David Blake that have critically looked at many of these factors. These researchers have brought to light many aspects of what we can really expect from human beings under these difficult parameters.
Use of Force Simulator Training Events
VirTra has produced a new series of use of force training simulator events called “Human Factors in Force Encounters” that takes some of this vital research to provide a dynamic and interactive experience that can demonstrate and teach these concepts. These training events are not a “scenario” as typically represented in some training simulators – they are much more. They come complete with a comprehensive curriculum to assist agencies in teaching and using the training events. They provide an immersive and gripping experience that provides an insight to citizens, police leaders/trainers, community leader, and lawmakers.
VirTra believes that these Human Factors in Force Encounters training events are pivotal for building a better understanding for all parties involved. In this spirit, VirTra is providing these training events to all existing customers that can run these events at no cost.
Tempe, Ariz. (April 9, 2018) – VirTra, Inc. (Nasdaq: VTSI) (the “Company”), a global provider of training simulators for the law enforcement, military, educational and commercial markets, and Force Science® Institute today announced a four-part series of law enforcement training courses based on the research, science, and applications that Force Science has developed over the past 40 years. Each course will explore Force Science, the application of unbiased scientific principles and processes in repetitive physical experiments designed to determine the true nature of suspect provocation and officer response (action-reaction dynamics). The goal of the program is to encourage law enforcement professionals to apply the important concepts revealed in this research when investigating, reconstructing, recalling or otherwise analyzing use of force. The courses will run for two days and take place at various cities around the United States in 2018.
The schedule for classes and host agencies are as follows:
- Los Angeles Police Department | June 7-8 | Los Angeles, CA
- St. Louis County Police Department | July 19-20 | St. Louis, MO
- Dallas Police Department | August 23-24 | Dallas, TX
- Orange County Sheriff’s Office | October 4-5 | Orlando, FL
“Force Science courses are vital to the education of law enforcement officers,” said Jason Mulcahy, general manager at VirTra. “We have integrated Force Science research and training into our simulations as well as the newly developed training curriculum VirTra now offers our customers. We look forward to working closely with Force Science on future projects.”
Additionally, as part of the learning experience, participants have the opportunity to experience VirTra’s new Human Factors in Force Encounters™ training events in VirTra’s immersive V-300™ training simulator, which is based on the science and teachings of Force Science.
VirTra’s newly developed Human Factors in Force Encounters curriculum program examines the science behind human performance under stress. The course includes a lesson plan, simulation exercises, course evaluation, testing and more. The complete coursework and simulator events and scenarios will be on site for review by the students.
“Force Science Institute is impressed with the efforts that VirTra has made in trying to accurately capture the science behind some of our research on the speed and time dynamics and often rapidly unfolding nature of a possible assault. These VirTra Human Factor scenarios take what we did in the lab setting and turned them into a demonstrative format that users can experience on their own.” said Scott Buhrmaster, Chief Operating Officer of Force Science Institute out of Chicago, IL.
The seating is limited. Register online now at VirTra’s Force Science Events page.
About Force Science
The Force Science Division of Training makes training available that will educate administrators, trainers, investigators, attorneys, officers and other legal professionals on Force Science findings and will help facilitate the application of Force Science concepts during their investigations, training and work in the field.
About VirTra
VirTra is a global provider of simulators for the law enforcement, military, educational and commercial markets. The Company’s patented technologies, software and scenarios provide intense training for de-escalation, judgmental use-of-force, marksmanship and related training that mimics real-world situations. VirTra’s mission is to save and improve lives worldwide through realistic and highly-effective virtual reality and simulator technology. Learn more about VirTra at www.VirTra.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release includes certain information that may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by terminology such as “could,” “may,” “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “proposed,” “planned,” “potential” and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements about VirTra’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although VirTra believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. VirTra cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accordingly, due to the risks, uncertainties and assumptions inherent in forward-looking information, readers and prospective investors in the Company’s securities should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof and is subject to change. The Company assumes no obligation to revise or update forward-looking information to reflect new circumstances, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Media contact:
VirTra
info@virtra.com
480-968-1488
Investor Relations contact:
Brett Maas
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(646) 536-7331