VirTra & Vistelar: De-Escalation Training
You don’t have to be in law enforcement for long to know that not every interaction is simple. People get aggressive; maybe they don’t like the police, or maybe they just had a bad day. Either way, conflict is inevitable.
The latest IADLEST nationally certified V-VICTA™ curriculum was made in partnership with Vistelar, a company that specializes in conflict resolution. With a majority of VirTra’s simulator scenarios offering resolutions that do not require force, De-Escalation is designed to allow officers to work through conflicts verbally while keeping in mind the importance of facial expression and body language. This nationally-certified curriculum includes:
- 4 hours of nationally certified curriculum
- 5 information-rich chapters
- 6 scenarios with multiple branching options
- 38-page lesson plan
- 35-slide presentation
VirTra is the ONLY simulation company with de-escalation training curriculum that's been nationally certified by an independent third-party.
Why De-Escalation?
While not every situation is created equal and there are some situations that cannot be resolved through de-escalation, it is an important consideration during contact with someone experiencing crisis of any kind.
De-escalation, if the situation allows, could reduce the chances of force being used. It may be as simple as giving the person space, time and respect, or it could be a discussion with the subject. When appropriate, de-escalation tactics may prevent a situation from going badly.
Learning Objectives
As an officer, you’ve heard “de-escalation” countless times, but you also know it isn’t as simple as it’s made out to be. VirTra’s detailed lesson plan and law enforcement training scenarios combines simulated learning with Vistelar’s conflict management tactics. Just a few concepts covered within the curriculum include:
- Be alert and decisive
- Respond, don’t react
- Non-escalation
- Treat with dignity by showing respect
Vistelar’s training methods focus on the idea of non-escalation – stopping a conflict before it occurs. When this is not possible, interventions and actions for successfully de-escalating a situation are the next steps.
De-Escalation Scenarios
The VirTra difference is that each scenario has an average of over 85 branching options to resolution, creating more realistic responses and allowing each officer to uniquely respond to the situation. The six true-to-life training scenarios include:
- Cruiser Kick – A group of females walk by a police cruiser; one of them kicks the cruiser and yells an anti-police phrase.
- Sassy Skaters – Three subjects on skateboards argue with a store manager over the no skating rule.
- Suspicious Park Person – A person at a park is walking up to people and asking them to help find a dog for a person that doesn’t exist.
- Tire Tantrum – Two men are involved in a heated argument in a parking lot as their car appears to have a flat tire.
- Homeless Contact – A homeless subject is trespassing at a loading dock and does not want to leave.
V-VICTA curriculum is for Law Enforcement customers only and is included with the VirTra annual service plan or STEP program*
*Your system must run VOS 4.6 or higher and have the necessary amount of memory for the additional curriculum to be installed successfully.
