By Stephanie Kanowitz
May 21, 2021
A two-week use-of-force simulation experiment (SIMEX) used virtual reality (VR) to study factors that might affect arrest-related fatalities.
Conducted early last month by the Department of Homeland Security at the MITRE National Security Experimentation Lab in McLean, Va., the SIMEX simulated law enforcement officer and civilian encounters in an outdoor setting. More than 30 people participated, including officers from across the country, mental health experts and members of civilian review boards. The Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute and George Mason University also provided support.
“Given last summer’s arrest-related fatalities, our office the Office of State and Local Law Enforcement wanted to look at this problem not from what we thought, but what was evidence-based, rooted in science,” OSLLE Associate Director Lori Sims said.