Orihuela’s local police have begun using virtual reality in their tactical training through Octopus Tactical Software, a tool that recreates high-risk interventions so officers can practise in controlled conditions.
Introducing the system has involved municipal investment of €18,029, including VAT, according to information released by the Public Safety Department, headed by Mónica Pastor.
The change concerns the force’s training: the software allows officers to rehearse police responses in simulated scenarios and then review how each exercise unfolded.
Interactive scenarios and a review afterwards
Octopus combines theoretical and practical exercises through interactive virtual environments, with random situations generated by artificial intelligence and a subsequent stage for analysing the results.
That review allows officers to examine their actions and assess their progress over successive training sessions, without the exercises requiring the use of live ammunition.
The situations the platform can reproduce include armed interventions inside a building and those taking place in the street or other public spaces.
These are training examples rather than specific incidents that have occurred in the municipality; the virtual environment is used to work on responses to highly stressful circumstances.
Making decisions and acting under pressure
The approach goes beyond practising police techniques: it also aims to help officers apply those techniques when stress affects how they perceive what is happening around them.
The training covers attention, decision-making and the ability to react, all of which can be affected during a high-risk intervention.
Recreating such situations in a safe environment allows officers to practise and analyse their responses without facing the real consequences of the scenario being simulated.
The tool is being added to the two compulsory shooting practice sessions officers must complete each year; it therefore complements that preparation rather than replacing it.
The stated aim is to strengthen tactical responses and decision-making through simulations, with the review of exercises forming part of the training process itself.
Your city, in your inbox.
Useful news and plans for Torrevieja and the surrounding area. Mondays at 08:00 and Thursdays at 18:00 (Europe/Madrid): two emails a week. In English, free and without the noise.
Your choice. Confirm your email and unsubscribe at any time.
