NCJ Number
205072
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 31 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2004 Pages: 114-118
Date Published
March 2004
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the interactive video training products produced for law enforcement, government, and other industries by Maryland-based WILL Interactive Inc.
Abstract
WILL Interactive Inc., headed by a former Marine colonel and by a veteran of health and medical education, has designed and produced a range of CD-ROM’s for training purposes that are described as a cross between a feature film and a video game. The purpose of the training program is to place officers or students in virtual real-life scenarios in which they must make decisions that lead to certain outcomes. The justification for the CD-ROM training series is that officers or other emergency responders need to be trained in real life situations in which a variety of nuances and personalities dictate the type of actions necessary to gain control of the situation. These types of real life nuances are difficult to produce in a classroom or seminar setting where the environment is described as “sterile” and students have plenty of time to form responses. WILL Interactive has produced a range of CD-ROM's for different purposes, however topics intended for specific customers, such as the military, have broader uses because of the open-ended issues that are covered. For example, a training program on terrorism designed for military uses would also be useful to local law enforcement agencies. The article describes some of the specific programs, such as the “Interactive Nights Out 1,” designed to teach 17- to 25-year-olds to make smart decisions concerning AIDS, pregnancy, alcohol, and other drugs. The realistic training environment of the CD-ROM training programs has been praised as one of its central features. Characters are developed with personalities and histories in order to draw the student into the training program and to better simulate a real life situation. The programs may be used by students on their own or they may be used in facilitated sessions. In all, the training programs are considered highly engaging and effective.