Force virtual reality work gets national recognition

Using virtual reality videos to help tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) has seen Warwickshire Police scoop a national award.

Congratulations to Learning and Development Trainer, Paul Calver who received the award at a special event in London on Wednesday (6 September).

His work creating virtual reality videos led to the force being crowned winner in the ‘Technology and its use in tackling VAWG’ category at the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and College of Policing (CoP) event.

Each winning entry had to show how they had built trust and confidence, how their approach was victim-centred, and how their work had impacted on others.

The Warwickshire videos used virtual reality to show men and young boys how their actions and behaviours can impact on women and girls. 

The videos have been shown  in schools across the county as well as at university freshers’ events, and we use them to raise awareness when training new cohorts of student officers.

Paul worked with partners to create the videos, including Limina Immersive, RiVR, and Warwickshire Public Health.

Speaking about the award, Paul said: “We wanted to tackle the violence and intimidation affecting women and girls head on.

“Virtual reality enables us to provide an immersive experience for men and boys to bring to life how their actions can make women feel.

“I’m really proud to have been involved in the project and very much hope that the VR videos influence men and boys to change their behaviour for the better.”

Chief Superintendent Daf Goddard said: “Our ambition is to make Warwickshire a place where women and girls can live, work, socialise and study safely and confidently, without feeling frightened, intimidated, or harassed.

“As a police force, we play an important role in preventing harm. We are proud of Paul’s dedication to raising awareness among men and boys to see the impact of their behaviour on women and girls, and we are grateful to the local partners who supported this work.

“We hope the creative use of technology will go some way to getting men and boys to change their behaviour in the future.”

Find out more about what we’re doing as a force to tackle violence against women and girls on our VAWG website pages

Issued: Laura Maltby, Corporate Communications

Notes to editors:

The first picture is DCC Maggie Blyth, NPCC coordinator, Violence against  women and girls, Paul Calver, Warwickshire Police, Catherine Allen, immersive technology specialist and Cat Jeynes, producer with experience across VR and crime prevention

Second picture is Chief Superintendent Daf Goddard with Paul Calver