Schenectady police get state funding for virtual reality training system

Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara announced $50,000 in state funding Friday that he secured for the Schenectady Police Department to purchase the VRPD system.  

It’s a virtual reality de-escalation training tool developed by Catapult Games of Schenectady.

Officers can use the system to simulate real-world situations that require them to figure out the best way to de-escalate encounters.

An operator can control the types of situations a trainee encounters on the VR, and can choose from a number of different environments.