Partners News30 law enforcement learn with VR tools how to combat drug production crimes
With the use of VR exercises, CEPOL trained 30 law enforcement officials on how to tackle illicit international drug production, in close cooperation with leading professionals from the Dutch National Police. This EMPACT course (14/2024/ONS
) took place at the training premises of the National Dismantling Team (Landelijke Faciliteit Ontmantelen – LFO) of the Dutch National Police, from 29 October to 1 November, 2024.
During the activity, experts from the LFO demonstrated the latest developments of drug production, as found in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. Five training experts from the Dutch Police academy, together with the coordinator on Synthetic Drugs from Zeeland-West-Brabant coached the 30 course participants through various VR scenarios and facilitated them in developing VR training cases.
Furthermore, the course focused on the visualisation of drug production crime scenes to assist further investigations. Through multiple cutting-edge technology, such as lidar scans, photography, video, photogrammetry, 360 degrees photography and video, the course participants were introduced in selecting and combining them in order to create very detailed visualisations of drug production sites. After demonstrating a multitude of devices, two experts from the Dutch Expert Team Visualisation and Reconstruction (ETVR) coached the participants in using these tools in authentic drug production facilities. The ETVR has extensive experience in collecting imagery through different devices and embedding these in very accurate representations of crime scenes.
This CEPOL activity was received extremely well by participants and trainers alike, with a 100% satisfaction rate based on a 100% response rate.
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Background information
The Police Academy in the Netherlands has designed a nation-wide programme for the use of virtual reality in formal training of police officers, with over 200 VR learning stations spread over eight locations in the country. This programme covers different training levels, including initial training, but also continuous and expert training, such as the area of drug production crimes. The VR learning programme Druglab VR was designed by experts in the area of investigating drug production crimes in the unit Zeeland-West-Brabant. Drugslab VR is now managed by the Police Academy of the Netherlands and as part of a wider range of VR-based training, it covers the needs of the Dutch National police, as well as internationally. In the context of the latter, it is part of the CEPOL training portfolio on drugs trafficking.
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EMPACT training activity
Combating new forms of organised crime requires more cooperation between police and gendarmes, customs officers, border guards, judges, and prosecutors. EU institutions, agencies and Member States work together to tackle organised and serious international crime through a permanent and key instrument: the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).
CEPOL plays a crucial role in the EMPACT mechanism through the provision of specialised training and the identification of training needs within each common security threat. Every year, CEPOL provides a comprehensive training package for each common EU crime priority consisting of onsite, online and exchange training activities.
Check more of CEPOL's EMPACT training activities here.
