Virtual Reality in Blue: Linking the Next Generation Police Officers to the communities in LA.

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Today, Los Angeles is one of the most ethnically and geographically diverse cities in the country. Its residents speak 224 languages and live in diverse communities. Los Angeles Police Department Officers are sworn to protect and to serve more than 4 million Angelenos within a sprawling 465 square mile jurisdiction. In order to effectively meet the needs of all of the city's residents, LAPD Officers work out of 18 divisions, patrolling in cars, boats, helicopters, bikes, horseback and on foot.

But perception of our nation's police force is at a historic low, potentially scaring off those very candidates who would be best suited for public service in Los Angeles. Virtual Reality In Blue will be a series of immersive stories that provide a glimpse into the day in the life of a officer with the hopes of recruiting non-traditional candidate to help upkeep the public safety of their community.

After decades of excitement, the medium of Virtual Reality has finally arrived. We believe it can change the way we play, work, learn, and communicate in the near future. Facebook/Oculus, Sony, LG, Samsung, HTC, and Google have all built their VR platforms, Goldman Sachs analysts predict that VR will be bigger than TV, and VR has helped UNICEF raise more than $1.5 billion during fundraising events.

It's clear that VR is here to stay. Most applications are currently being developed for entertainment, marketing, and gaming sectors. But how can we access this next generation tool today to create transformational narratives, more efficient protocols, and deeper connectedness that can generate valuable impact?

In the form of a collaborative community project Impact Hub Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles Personnel Department, Woodbury University’s Interdisciplinary Department and immersive technologies consultancy, FutureSculpt are set to explore how we can recruit the next generation of police officers who reflect the value of their communities and can become an advocate for all Angelenos.

Currently, there are 16 recruitment officers in the Recruitment and Education Division of the Los Angeles Police Department that work with the City of Los Angeles Personnel Department. We intended to provide the recruitment officers with the Virtual Reality modules so they can provide a wider base of candidates and a glimpse of how they can help make their city a safer place.

We will be providing the recruitment officers with a survey they can administrator to prospects before they try the Virtual Reality module as well as after the experience. Then, we will be tracking the police academy graduation rates of the applicants who were exposed to the virtual reality content.

We will also be implementing a new head tracking technology that will give us deeper insights and understanding for how users feel when they experience this content. This will be done by partnering with a Canadian technology company called Retinad

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