The Role of Virtual Technology in Active Shooter Response Training

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Active shooter training
Active shooter response training for law enforcement

There's an old saying, "prepare for the worst, but hope for the best." Unfortunately, when it comes to law enforcement professionals, this is all too familiar. While no one wants to think about active shooter events, the reality is they are becoming more commonplace in the United States. In fact, according to ABC News, there has been approximately one mass shooting every 15 days this year.

How can law enforcement officials train for these mass school, workplace, or public place tragedies?

Virtual Judgmental and Situational Training

When it comes to active shooter response training, nothing beats hands-on practice. With judgmental and situational awareness drills, law enforcement professionals can improve shooting accuracy in a high-stress situation, engage in interactive exercises that simulate the real world, and they can do it all from the safety of a gun training simulator.

Through virtual training, officers have the chance to engage in simulations designed to test a limited set of behaviors with one crucial decision to make - to shoot or not to shoot. And based on the immediate response, the simulations can often be tweaked to provide valuable teaching opportunities related to the real world.

Benefits of Active Shooter Response Training at EVR

When it comes to active shooter response training, several benefits of a virtual simulation outweigh traditional classroom instruction.

Not only is it a hands-on and lifelike approach to building essential decision-making skills, but it is also a great way to go back and dissect what was successful and what should have been done differently. At EVR, our shooting bays feature realistic training scenarios, authentic sim guns with realistic recoil, and military-grade hardware and technology.

Also, other benefits of virtual active shooter response training include:

  • Safety - Virtual shooting simulators allow professionals to participate in shoot/don't shoot drills that don't require force-on-force equipment. This type of training typically requires additional safety measures, which can limit the realism of the exercise. With virtual training software, there is no risk of injury.
  • Cost Savings - Purchasing simunitions-equipped weapons, Airsoft weapons, or paintball weapons all have additional costs. Virtual training at a facility such as EVR includes realistic sim guns with recoil to mimic real-life scenarios.
  • Layers of Judgment - With virtual technology, law enforcement professionals have the opportunity to engage in multiple behavioral objectives and scenarios that test many aspects of decision-making. Plus, you can explore how the situation could have changed based on different judgment calls with the ability to replay scenarios.
  • Team vs. Individual Training - Virtual simulators can test officers on an individual or group level. This allows instructors to practice effective communication, follow commands and make judgment calls that affect everyone involved.

Ultimately, when it comes to active shooter response training, nothing is going to replace hands-on practice. EVR is committed to providing a safe and realistic setting for law enforcement professionals to engage in virtual judgment and situational awareness drills.

Learn more about EVR and our unique capabilities to cater to the needs of law enforcement.