TEMPE, Ariz. — VirTra, Inc. a global provider of training simulators for the law enforcement, military, educational, and commercial markets, today announced the twelve peace officers who have received scholarship awards from VirTra and Force Science Institute to attend a five-day Force Science Analyst Certification course, which is designed to better educate officers and improve their performance.
The winners include:
- Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa
- Saint Peter Police Department, Minnesota
- Stoughton Police Department, Massachusetts
- O’Fallon Police Department, Missouri
- Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, California
- Cleveland Division of Police, Ohio
- Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, California
- Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office / Wilsonville Police Department, Oregon
- Delta Police Department, British Columbia, Canada
- Brighton Police Department, Colorado
- Erie County Detective Bureau, Pennsylvania
The five-day program, taught by nine world-renowned instructors, allows attendees to receive a Force Science Analyst Certification. The certification signals their proven ability to recognize multiple factors that impact human behavior in use-of-force encounters. By participating in complex, rapidly unfolding encounters, the officers will be introduced to the scientific realities that impact officer performance like stress, action/reaction time, memory, decision-making, and more. Winners will attend one of the courses scheduled for either October or November in Columbia, SC, Omaha, NE and Chicago, IL.
“Working with Force Science to develop a scholarship program helps further our goal of providing expert training to officers around the country,” said Jason Mulcahy, VirTra General Manager. “VirTra’s hope is that each of the twelve officers will learn extensive and important concepts, which they can then take back to their respective agencies to better educate their colleagues and improve their departments and communities.”
Dr. Bill Lewinski, Executive Director and co-founder of the Force Science Institute added: “Preparation through effective training is key to increasing officer performance and decision-making in time compressed situations. VirTra has done a great job of integrating Force Science research into simulator scenarios. The partnership between VirTra and Force Science Institute encourages research-based and science-backed training, which is vital to furthering officer education to improve safety and performance.”
VirTra and Force Science instructors will be exhibiting at the Second Annual Force Science Conference on October 16-17 in Chicago, IL, during which attendees of the conference will have an opportunity to witness a demonstration of the VirTra simulator with Force Science concepts applied first-hand.
About VirTra:
VirTra (NASDAQ: VTSI) is a global provider of judgmental use of force training simulators, firearms training simulators and driving 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 practical and highly-effective virtual reality and simulator technology. Learn more about the company at www.VirTra.com.
About the Force Science Institute:
The Force Science Institute is dedicated to promoting the value of knowledge through empirical research in behavioral science and human dynamics. Force Science develops and disseminates high quality scientifically grounded education, training, and consultation to support fact-based investigations, inform decision processes, enhance public safety, and improve peace officer performance in critical situations. Learn more at www.forcescience.org/.