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De Districtsrecherche van de Nationale Politie is binnen een politie-eenheid verantwoordelijk voor het opsporingsonderzoek van een strafbaar feit gepleegd in hun district.
Tactisch rechercheurs zijn verantwoordelijk voor het proces van waarheidsvinding en opsporen van een verdachte in het geval van een misdrijf.
Detectives must pay attention to many things at once during a crime scene investigation, which can cause them to miss details. This can impede the course of justice, and this can create feelings of uncertainty among personnel.
The training of detectives takes a long time and there is a high turnover rate, causing knowledge to be lost. Moreover, due to the high workload and structural understaffing, there is too little time and space to learn or practice.
In close cooperation with the Amsterdam Police Department, we created a VR training to develop a ‘tactical eye’, to think in hypotheses and scenarios and to stimulate self-reflective capacity. The training helps especially novice detectives to become proficient through a training that can be followed independent of time and place. For more experienced detectives, it is a welcome refresher.
In the tutorial, the user learns about all aspects and functionalities of VR training. Those with more digital skills or experience can go through it at a fast pace, those who don’t have this can get additional practice if needed.
Basic functionalities such as selecting, walking and picking up are practiced to familiarize them with virtual reality. In addition, specific functions such as interactions with colleagues and collecting and categorizing evidence are covered.
At the beginning of the training, the detective is introduced to a senior detective, Inge. She explains the various process steps throughout the training and provides the detective with tantalizing hints. All this is to give the detective different/new insights.
The VR training simulates a crime scene with a deceased person. It is up to the detective to collect, analyze and categorize clues to determine a possible motive. Because … Why and how did this man die, and what clues do you need to gather to answer that?
After Inge’s introduction, a report comes in that a deceased person has been found. Before visiting the crime scene, the detective is given time to extract information from the Police’s digital systems.
At the crime scene, the first conversation is with two colleagues from the uniform service who provide initial information about the situation encountered.
The detective can select information and then mark it as “interesting” to use later in the investigation. In addition, the detective receives information from the coroner and the forensic team. This shows that a natural death is not obvious based on the trace evidence a crime cannot be excluded.
After gaining an initial overview, the participant looks for clues that may help determine the circumstances of the incident. Examples include tactical clues such as documents or traces of violence. The clues can be in plain sight or hidden in drawers, for example.
The investigator must find and select clues that provide insight into a possible timeline. Consider objects such as a newspaper or letter, as well as curtains that are closed or lights that are on.
After gaining an initial overview, the participant looks for clues that may help determine the circumstances of the incident. Examples include tactical clues such as documents or traces of violence. The clues can be in plain sight or hidden in drawers, for example.
The investigator must find and select clues that provide insight into a possible timeline. Consider objects such as a newspaper or letter, as well as curtains that are closed or lights that are on.
Clues can then also be placed by the detective in the category of “natural death,” “accident,” , “suicide” and/or a “crime. A clue can be placed in multiple categories. A category represents a hypothesis, and working in this way encourages scenario-oriented tracing.
In training, the detective is forced to take a moment to think about the deceased. Again, clues can be found and selected and placed by the detective in the category of “crime,” “health,” “state of mind,” “financial” and “relational.
At any time during the crime scene investigation, the detective can move himself to the so-called thought room. The boards in the thought room display the clue collected by category. In real life, detectives use pen and paper for taking notes. This is very difficult in VR, the thought room has become the alternative to create overview in the thought process.
The thought room also contains imagination questions regarding the hypotheses to be tested. The detective is asked whether or not these questions were considered at the crime scene. In doing so, the investigator consciously dives into a hypothesis.
At the end of the investigation, it shows what tactical clues the senior would have selected. This shows if there is any overlap. The detective studies at least 5 clues that the senior selected and the detective did not. Reasoning then follows from the senior for the selection and possibly provides new insights for the detective.
Afterwards, the investigator is shown two animations that show that several scenarios are possible; a crime scenario and an accident scenario. What really happened is not told, as this is also not the case in practice.
The VR training connects to real-life situations and integrates learning directly into the job, making learning accessible, effective and fun. The training increases knowledge and is a real “kick-start” to their career as detectives. Detectives report that they are more aware of the environment at the crime scene, know better what to look for and thus gain more peace of mind and confidence.
This project was made possible in part by Research Agenda Police (SOAP) and research by TwynstraGudde shows that it is a valuable tool for combating personnel shortages.
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