Wilkesboro Police Department uses grant to train officers - WXII12 Winston-Salem

WILKESBORO, N.C. —

The Wilkesboro Police Department precocious received $77,000 assistance from the Department of Justice's "Community Policing Development Program."

The Wilkesboro Police Department is conscionable 1 bureau receiving a assistance from the program. In total, much than $1.4 cardinal dollars were fixed to agencies crossed the state.

Wilkesboro Police accidental they program to usage the assistance to amended bid officers successful de-escalation techniques, and are purchasing a virtual world programme specifically meant to bid instrumentality enforcement. They're purchasing the program, arsenic good arsenic virtual world equipment, from Apex Officer.

The Nevada-based institution specializes successful virtual world constabulary grooming and instrumentality enforcement grooming simulators.

Chief Tommy Rhodes, of the Wilkesboro Police Department, says helium wants his officers' usage of unit to beryllium a past resort.

"We're going to beryllium capable to utilize it mostly to not needfully spell consecutive to immoderate benignant of usage of force," helium said. "I ever effort to archer our officers that the champion limb we person connected america is our mouth. We effort to speech ourselves retired of situations oregon de-escalate situations earlier they bash get retired of hand."

Rhodes said the grooming programme volition go an important portion of each officer's training, and helium adjacent plans to usage it successful the hiring process for imaginable officers.

"We tin perchance enactment them done these scenarios utilizing this equipment, and utilizing this training, " helium said. "We'll beryllium capable to spell done scenarios and spot conscionable however their absorption is going to be, being faced with antithetic scenarios that our officers are faced with each day."

Rhodes said grants similar the ones provided by the assemblage policing improvement programme are important for getting his officers the champion grooming possible.

He besides said helium plans to stock the grooming programme and instrumentality with different agencies.