A Welsh university is using Virtual Reality technology to give criminology and policing students an insight into the lives of victims of coercive control.

Bangor University is working with community interest company Mother Mountain Productions on the training sessions, which are also being used with people working in social services.

During the session, participants wear VR headsets and temporarily visit a VR reality where perpetrators take control of finances, mobile phones and medications, dictating what their victims wear and who they see or what they do from day to day. All students are thoroughly screened prior to the experience to make sure that they are both physically and mentally prepared for what they will experience.

According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 43,774 offences of coercive control recorded by the police in England and Wales, excluding Devon and Cornwall, in the year ending March 2023.

Claire McGrady, Inspector at North Wales Police and lead for violence against women and girls, said:

“What’s very exciting about this virtual reality training, which we’re doing for the first time in North Wales, is that it allows our trainee officers to learn more about controlling, coercive behaviour and take that back to the workplace and use it when faced with similar cases. The statistics for this type of emotional abuse in England and Wales is in the many tens of thousands, so this is a very real crime we need to understand and try to prevent every day. This training makes a great contribution towards that.”

Dr Tim Holmes, subject lead for Criminology and Policing at Bangor University said:

“We are pleased to be giving our criminology students an opportunity to experience this new form of training and are integrating it into our policing degree programmes for new police constables joining North Wales Police on request from the North Wales Police violence against women and children lead.

“It demonstrates our commitment to responding to the need to improve new police officers’ awareness of coercive control, and how it can present itself in different forms. This is something North Wales Police is keen to develop greater awareness of, and through the degree we have an opportunity to reach a lot of new police officers as well as criminology students and the wider social services sector with this training.”

Jude Traharne, Managing Director of Mother Mountain Productions said:

“It’s very exciting to be partnering with Bangor University and North Wales Police to deliver this training – to catch people at the beginning of their career when they’re still training is when we can have the greatest impact.

“Powerpoints and presentations aren’t always the most inspired ways of training, particularly in a subject as sensitive and emotionally charged as this. Our USP is really to try and put people in the shoes of the other – in this case domestic abuse and coercive control.

“We work with agencies and victim-survivors to ensure we are telling their story in the most authentic way possible, and to really make their voices heard, albeit anonymously. We then film these scenarios with a 360-degree camera which gives us a virtual reality video which we use to immerse the individuals in the training.

“Through feedback and data we gather, we’ve found it really does impact on behaviour change and this type of training stays with participants and informs the way they approach victims of domestic violence and the questions they ask going forward.”

Reflecting on the training, Criminology student Jasmine said:

“I think it’s a fascinating way to learn. It’s really interesting to see the modules split up in the VR setting as well. Seeing it within a VR situation you get more of a first-hand experience. It’s a cool way of learning.”