This is a report on the purchase of new Force Option Virtual Reality Simulators and the development of a Use of Force Virtual Reality (UOF-VR) Course.  The Use of Force Guidelines are in the beginning stages and will be completed by the Management Counseling and Projects Bureau.

The guidelines and course of instruction shall stress that the use of force by law enforcement personnel is of important concern to the community and law enforcement, and that law enforcement should safeguard life, dignity, and liberty of all persons, without prejudice to anyone. These guidelines shall be a resource for each agency executive to use in the creation of a use of force policy that the agency is encouraged to adopt and promulgate, and that reflects the needs of the agency, the jurisdiction it serves, and the law.

POST is in the process of purchasing Force Option Virtual Reality Simulators with the one time $5M allotment for equipment to assist in providing law enforcement training mandated by SB 230.

In January 2020, POST convened a 3-day workshop comprised of subject matter experts (SMEs) from law enforcement agencies, police academies, and members of the public to develop training content as prescribed by the law. The course will leverage Force Option Virtual Reality Simulators to more effectively provide “use of force scenario training including simulations of low-frequency, high-risk situations and calls for service, shoot-or-don’t-shoot situations, and real-time force option decision-making,” as specified in the law.

In February 2020, POST will convene a second workshop to fully develop the training package. These workshops will assist in developing the UOF-VR Course curriculum and create learning environments in the new Force Option Virtual Reality Simulators. Following the development of the course curriculum, additional workshops will be held to create a Train-the-Trainer course, which will be taught to identified presenters throughout the State.

In October 2019, POST hosted a De-escalation Summit comprised of  SMEs in law enforcement, academia, and other essential stakeholder groups, to develop a standardized best-practice de-escalation publication of policies and training information. The publication is due to be completed by June 2020. After completion of the publication, POST will convene a Use of Force Guidelines workshop, again, comprised of SMEs to develop uniform minimum guidelines for adoption and promulgation by California law enforcement agencies. The guidelines will be completed by July 2020 with required policy implementation by California law enforcement agencies on January 1, 2021.