Bringing the Future to the Front Line: How InVeris is Revolutionising Police Training in the UK

Policing in the 21st century has changed beyond recognition. Officers are no longer simply enforcers of the law, they’re communicators, de-escalators, first responders, and guardians of community trust. But while the nature of the job has evolved, many traditional training methods have remained largely unchanged.

That’s now beginning to shift, and fast.

The Challenge: Training for a World That Doesn’t Stand Still

Modern officers are faced with rising public expectations, increased scrutiny, and increasingly complex operational environments. They must make split-second decisions that are legally sound, ethically defensible, and emotionally intelligent. Add to this the need to master new technologies, non-lethal tools, and evolving threat profiles, and the training challenge becomes clear.

How do you prepare officers for the unpredictable, without putting them in harm’s way?

The Answer: Immersive, Adaptive, Evidence-Based Training

The latest generation of police training is turning away from rote drills and toward realistic, scenario-based simulations, immersive experiences that mirror the cognitive and emotional pressure of real incidents.

What makes this approach effective?

• Real-time decision-making: Officers must assess, communicate, act, and face the consequences in a dynamic environment.
  
• Behavioural learning: The emotional intensity of immersive scenarios improves memory retention and instinctive responses.
• Safe repetition: Trainees can repeat high-risk situations multiple times with zero physical danger and instant feedback.
• Data-led reflection: Performance is tracked and reviewed from every angle, helping instructors focus on behaviour, not just outcome.

This is more than a shift in technology, it’s a fundamental change in how we define preparedness.

Training the Mind, Not Just the Muscle

A key element of this revolution is the emphasis on judgement and communication, not just technical weapon handling. With increasing emphasis on de-escalation and proportionality, officers need to develop their tactical empathy, the ability to read a situation, engage calmly, and adjust their response accordingly.

Immersive simulation allows for branching scenarios where instructor decisions, or officer actions, change the outcome. That means every interaction becomes a chance to train ethical decision-making and build confidence under pressure.

From Virtual Streets to Real Readiness

As UK Police adopt more complex public order roles, including mental health response, protest management, and counter-terrorism support, they require tools that prepare them for more than just the firing range.

Scenario-based training can include (but Is Not Limited To):

• Domestic abuse call-outs
• Public space disorder
• Active threat environments
• Use-of-force dilemmas
• Negotiation and communication breakdowns

Crucially, these can all be customised to reflect local geography, policy, and procedure, ensuring training is relevant, current, and reflective of frontline realities.

How InVeris Supports Frontline Readiness

At the forefront of this training revolution is InVeris Training Solutions, whose platforms are already used by police and military agencies around the world.

• FATS® VR – Portable, 360° virtual reality system delivering fully immersive training focused on de-escalation, communication, and real-time decision-making.
• FATS® 100LE – High-fidelity marksmanship and judgemental training with intelligent diagnostics, coaching tools, and scenario playback for skill development.
• FATS® 180 – Three-screen immersive setup offering a 180° field of view, ideal for departments needing spatial awareness training in a more compact footprint.
• FATS® 300LE – A 300° wraparound training environment enabling multi-officer coordination, public order response, and complex threat scenario training.
• FATS® Live – Integrated live-fire training solution that brings the precision and realism of virtual scenarios into real-world ranges for a seamless training continuum.
• BlueFire® Weapons – Wireless, recoil-enabled simulators that mirror service weapons and less-lethal tools for safe, hands-on realism.

These systems aren’t just tools, they’re training ecosystems, designed to evolve with policing itself.

The Future of Training is Already Here

Training has always been the foundation of effective policing. But to meet the demands of today, and tomorrow’s officers need more than tradition. They need technology that trains judgement, not just marksmanship. Systems that simulate uncertainty, not just targets. Platforms that prepare officers to think, speak, move and lead, all at once.

With immersive simulation, that future is already within reach. And it’s changing the way we protect the public, one decision at a time.

“For nearly a half century, InVeris has served as the pioneer and leading innovator in firearms training, advancing human performance today as the world’s leading provider of technology-driven virtual reality and augmented reality training solutions.

In short, we provide you with unequaled, totally immersive realism for superior retention to help make split-second, life-saving decisions the right decisions no matter what the situation.”   Mark Mears, Director, InVeris Training Solutions

Find out more about InVeris public safety training systems here:

https://www.inveristraining.com/virtual-training/public-safety-virtual-weapons-and-scenario-training/

InVeris will be exhibiting at DSET 8-10 July 2025. To find out more about their systems and see a demonstration book a meeting with the team at DSET.