MASON CITY – North Iowa Area Community College, in partnership with the Mason City Police Department, announced the installation of a new virtual reality training system for crisis situations on the NIACC Mason City campus.
The virtual reality system, VirTra®, is designed to help law enforcement officers improve how they respond to an active shooter, domestic violence, and other high-stress situations. It was installed on February 15, 2023.
VirTra® is designed to save the lives of first responders and citizens by allowing officers to train in real-world scenarios. The simulator includes a portable one-screen solution for a unique training environment. Simulator outcomes are based on law enforcement actions in real-time with multiple responses from on-screen persons.
The immersive environment recreates psychological stressors such as elevated heart rates and high levels of adrenaline that officers experience during similar situations.
City of Mason City Police Chief, Jeff Brinkley, said he is excited to provide this additional training tool to his officers to improve public safety initiatives.
“This is a great chance for us to train in a controlled environment using scenario-based learning. VirTra® will allow us to reinforce training objectives in our officers as they work through a wide variety of situations that can occur every day in the field. This is an ideal opportunity to partner with NIACC on new technology that helps us train our current officers and attract new officers to our field,” Brinkley said.
NIACC Continuing Education Dean, Patti Hanson, said, “This is what we do, partner with organizations and businesses to provide training opportunities. The needs of our communities are at the forefront of our decisions and implementing the VirTra® system for area law enforcement is a win for everyone.”
More than 400 law enforcement and military locations spanning local police and federal government use VirTra® to improve judgment, critical thinking, communication skills, and decision-making during highly stressful encounters.
North Iowa Area Community College, founded in 1918, is a nationally-recognized, two-year college located in central North Iowa.
