Abstract:

Supported by funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), a multidisciplinary team from the University of Sunderland has spent the past year conducting early-phase research into the role of immersive technologies in policing education. The project brings together expertise in policing studies and digital technologies to explore how digital content and extended reality (XR) environments can enhance teaching and training across higher education institutions and police training contexts.

To ensure the research responds to real-world needs rather than remaining within an academic silo, the project established a series of formal steering groups involving a diverse range of external stakeholders. These include policymakers, criminal justice partners, support organisations, and professional educators and trainers. Their involvement has helped shape the research and testing agenda, ensuring that the development of immersive learning approaches reflects operational realities within policing.

The primary focus of this early-stage work has been to create a collaborative network that connects policing professionals and digital technology specialists. Through this network, the team has undertaken some initial exploration on how emerging digital and immersive technologies can support the development of innovative teaching resources with the potential to improve law enforcement preparedness and professional training outcomes.

The network responds to long-standing challenges in policing education, particularly the need for training solutions that are accessible, adaptable, and capable of replicating complex real-world scenarios [1] [2]. Despite the growing interest in digital training environments, immersive and scalable solutions remain limited across the sector.

Initial experimentation has explored three XR modalities, including two forms of immersive learning environments alongside virtual reality delivered through head-mounted displays (HMDs). From the outset, it was clear that no single approach would provide a universal solution and to-date more emphasis has been placed on ensuring the digital content works within our Igloo immersive space [3]. Testing has therefore considered multiple variables, including cost implications (hardware, software, and staffing) and the pedagogical suitability of different XR formats for specific teaching and training scenarios. The testing has also explored whether these environments can effectively support skills development for assessment purposes, while avoiding cognitive overload and minimising the risk of motion sickness for students.

Although the research remains at an early stage, initial findings have already begun to highlight promising opportunities for integrating immersive technologies into policing education. The project has also identified clear priorities for the next phase of experimentation, evaluation, and stakeholder engagement as well as developing a framework to support the future creation of digital content.

Keywords:

Extended Reality (XR), Digital Content, Policing Education, Immersive learning environment.