SEATTLE, Aug. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon (Nasdaq:
AAXN), the global leader in connected public safety technologies
today announced six new training scenarios as part of the Axon
Virtual Reality (VR) Training program. The new scenarios include
officer intervention training, post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI)
training for both community members and officers,
Alzheimer's/Dementia training and hard of hearing training. The
first two new training scenarios, both based on peer intervention,
will be available to agencies in the fourth quarter of 2020 with
the additional four new trainings slated to be available in the
first half of 2021. For more information visit:
https://www.axon.com/vr-training.
Axon's new VR training scenarios are built to address the
following: building empathy with community members that police
officers are assisting in the field, officer preparedness and
officer coping. The first two training scenarios being made
available by the end of the year address peer intervention: how an
officer can best determine when to step in if he or she sees a
colleague acting inappropriately. The trainee is able to see the
scene unfolding from both the point-of-view of the subject as well
as the point-of-view of the officer responding to the scene. One
scenario features a noise complaint call involving a resident who
has had previous run-ins with the police. The second scenario
features a homeless man who is panhandling on business property. In
both scenarios, the trainee must decide which decisions to make
while working with a fellow officer who demonstrates an obvious
bias towards the subjects.
To develop the VR training scenarios, Axon works closely with
community advocacy groups, mental health organizations, clinicians,
law enforcement training experts and more. For the peer
intervention training specifically, Axon worked with ABLE (Active
Bystandership for Law Enforcement), a group dedicated to help
prepare officers to successfully intervene to prevent harm,
and EPIC (Ethical Policing is Courageous), a law enforcement peer
intervention training program.
"Knowing when and how to stand up to your peers can be difficult
in any industry – but especially in policing when faced with
potentially volatile situations," says former police chief and
current AI Ethics Board member, Kathleen
O'Toole. "This immersive training will be very impactful as
it will train officers to recognize when peers are acting
inappropriately and empower them to intervene properly, resulting
in successful, non-violent outcomes."
"After the events of this year, and the many tragic events that
preceded 2020, it is clear that we need to offer law enforcement
proactive versus reactive tools for reducing use of force," says
Axon CEO and founder, Rick Smith.
"Being trained on when not to deploy force is just as important as
tactical training on how to deploy force, and that is what we are
addressing with these new training modules. Our mission has always
been to protect life and this training is a big step towards that
goal."
The complete list of Axon VR Training currently in development
includes:
Officer PTSI: This training helps officers identify,
mitigate and cope with traumas they may encounter when in the
field.
Hard of Hearing: This training helps officers to identify if
a person they are addressing in the field has hearing loss and
equips them with tools to communicate more effectively.
Community PTSI: This training helps officers to identify if
a community member is experiencing some form of PTSI and introduce
strategies for better communication.
Alzheimer's/Dementia: This training equips officers with
strategies to better assist a person in the field who may be
suffering from Alzheimer's/Dementia.
The training is available to agencies as part of the Officer
Safety Plan 7+, the TASER Certification Plan or a la carte.
About Axon
Axon is a network of devices, apps and people that helps public
safety personnel become smarter and safer. With a mission of
protecting life, our technologies give customers the confidence,
focus and time they need to keep their communities safe. Our
products impact every aspect of a public safety officer's
day-to-day experience with the goal of helping everyone get home
safe.
We work hard for those who put themselves in harm's way for all
of us. To date, more than 237,000 lives and countless dollars have
been saved with the Axon network of devices, apps and people. Learn
more at www.axon.com or by calling (800) 978-2737. Axon is a
global company with headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. and global software
engineering hub in Seattle, Wash.,
as well as additional offices in Australia, Canada, Finland, Vietnam, the UK and the Netherlands.
Facebook is a trademark of Facebook, Inc., Oculus Go is a
trademark of Facebook Technologies, LLC and Twitter is a trademark
of Twitter, Inc. Axon, Axon Evidence, Axon Records and the "Delta
Logo" are trademarks of Axon Enterprise, Inc., some of which are
registered in the US and other countries. For more information,
visit www.axon.com/legal. All rights reserved.
Follow Axon here:
- Axon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/axon_us
- Axon on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Axon.ProtectLife/
Note to Investors
Please visit http://investor.axon.com,
https://www.axon.com/press, www.twitter.com/axon_us and
https://www.facebook.com/Axon.ProtectLife/ where Axon discloses
information about the company, its financial information and its
business.
CONTACT:
Carley Partridge
Axon PR & Comms Manager
Press@Axon.com
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