The Police Behaviour project addresses the pressing issue of violence by police towards African Americans in the United States. In this study, we employed virtual reality to explore the potential of embodiment techniques to enhance helping behavior of police officers towards victims of police racial aggression.
Watch the case study:
Discover how we achieved a breakthrough in improving police responses through virtual reality (VR) technology.
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Participants start by embodying the role of a police officer in an interrogation room, alongside another officer, questioning a black suspect. Tensions rise as the other officer progressively becomes more threatening and racist in their comments and questioning.
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Following the intense interrogation, participants find themselves embodied as the suspect. From this perspective, the participant experiences the same interrogation they previously witnessed, now hearing their own recorded movements and dialogue playing back.
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One week later, participants find themselves in a café with the same officer. A customer enters the café to order coffee, and the other officer immediately starts aggressively questioning the victim until he pulls out his gun and aim it at the victim.
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Participants who experienced the VR simulation from the perspective of the interrogated suspect demonstrated greater empathy and support for the victim.
times more likely to “act as
an ally” after experiencing
the training
This research has shown a significant positive shift in the attitudes of the police officers who took part in the experiment. Through the program’s implementation, officers developed a greater understanding and empathy towards the communities they serve, fostering improved relationships and trust between law enforcement and the public