Creating controversy: developing a virtual reality training tool with 360° film to engage in ethnic profiling reform
Ethnic profiling is a topic that is challenging to address in policing communities. Many police officers doubt its existence or find it too trivial and irrelevant to worry about. Others may find it important, but do not feel psychologically safe to discuss it with their colleagues. Many police offic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2025.1451206/full |
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| author | Bas Böing Bas Böing Peter W. De Vries Ellen Giebels |
| author_facet | Bas Böing Bas Böing Peter W. De Vries Ellen Giebels |
| author_sort | Bas Böing |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ethnic profiling is a topic that is challenging to address in policing communities. Many police officers doubt its existence or find it too trivial and irrelevant to worry about. Others may find it important, but do not feel psychologically safe to discuss it with their colleagues. Many police officers, therefore, ignore training and conversations on ethnic profiling, which hinders combating it. We describe the foundations of a Virtual Reality based training prototype that seeks to encourage active participation in ethnic profiling dialogue. We describe the iterative process between the various steps in the design process of the Virtual Reality tool and the design features including experiential learning and perspective-taking on the individual level, and constructive controversy dialogue on the group level. Our observations during its testing phase indicate that the current prototype contributes to officers’ awareness of ineffective and biased police practices. While this testifies to the potential of the prototype design to shape meaningful police reform activities on a larger scale, we also speculate that our immersive design may offer solutions for other urgent socio-political controversies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e5cc2cd5697b48e69a85a03f77b6768b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2673-4192 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5cc2cd5697b48e69a85a03f77b6768b2025-08-20T02:24:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Virtual Reality2673-41922025-06-01610.3389/frvir.2025.14512061451206Creating controversy: developing a virtual reality training tool with 360° film to engage in ethnic profiling reformBas Böing0Bas Böing1Peter W. De Vries2Ellen Giebels3Police Academy, Apeldoorn, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety, University of Twente, Enschede, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety, University of Twente, Enschede, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety, University of Twente, Enschede, NetherlandsEthnic profiling is a topic that is challenging to address in policing communities. Many police officers doubt its existence or find it too trivial and irrelevant to worry about. Others may find it important, but do not feel psychologically safe to discuss it with their colleagues. Many police officers, therefore, ignore training and conversations on ethnic profiling, which hinders combating it. We describe the foundations of a Virtual Reality based training prototype that seeks to encourage active participation in ethnic profiling dialogue. We describe the iterative process between the various steps in the design process of the Virtual Reality tool and the design features including experiential learning and perspective-taking on the individual level, and constructive controversy dialogue on the group level. Our observations during its testing phase indicate that the current prototype contributes to officers’ awareness of ineffective and biased police practices. While this testifies to the potential of the prototype design to shape meaningful police reform activities on a larger scale, we also speculate that our immersive design may offer solutions for other urgent socio-political controversies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2025.1451206/fullvirtual realityethnic profilingpolice trainingpsychological safetyconstructive controversy |
| spellingShingle | Bas Böing Bas Böing Peter W. De Vries Ellen Giebels Creating controversy: developing a virtual reality training tool with 360° film to engage in ethnic profiling reform Frontiers in Virtual Reality virtual reality ethnic profiling police training psychological safety constructive controversy |
| title | Creating controversy: developing a virtual reality training tool with 360° film to engage in ethnic profiling reform |
| title_full | Creating controversy: developing a virtual reality training tool with 360° film to engage in ethnic profiling reform |
| title_fullStr | Creating controversy: developing a virtual reality training tool with 360° film to engage in ethnic profiling reform |
| title_full_unstemmed | Creating controversy: developing a virtual reality training tool with 360° film to engage in ethnic profiling reform |
| title_short | Creating controversy: developing a virtual reality training tool with 360° film to engage in ethnic profiling reform |
| title_sort | creating controversy developing a virtual reality training tool with 360° film to engage in ethnic profiling reform |
| topic | virtual reality ethnic profiling police training psychological safety constructive controversy |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2025.1451206/full |
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