Students Face Virtual Active Shooters, Inmates, And More At This NJ University

WAYNE, NJ — Students studying criminal justice, social work, and sociology are getting “real” hands-on experience through William Paterson University’s new virtual reality program.

The university recently acquired the WrapReality virtual reality platform, the same used to train public safety and security officials, to give students a glimpse at what their jobs could look like in front of their own eyes. The school says it’s one of the first universities in the country to implement this technology in its criminal justice program.

Director of WPU’s Criminology and Criminal Justice program Professor Colleen Eren says the tech will be integrated into the students’ coursework, teaching “communication, ethics, critical thinking, decision-making, and de-escalation skills in a controlled learning environment.”

“The Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Social Work programs at William Paterson have strong academic components. We teach students social science theory, how to understand and apply empirical research,” Eren said. “But we also want to give students the kind of applied knowledge that will set them apart in their chosen professions and keep them excited about learning.”

According to the university, students will be virtually entering prisons and interacting with incarcerated people—both those seeking to harm and those seeking to improve themselves, conducting constitutional traffic stops, investigating and mediating domestic violence situations, facing active shooters on a school campus, teaching individuals with substance abuse disorders how to resist relapse, de-escalating potential violent confrontations with aggressive civilians, and confronting officers engaged in unethical policing practices.

Students will enter dozens of virtual simulations under the guidance of their professors, WPU added. The school calls the new programming a reflection of WPU’s “ongoing commitment to the use of innovative technologies that support student success.”

“With our acquisition of the WrapReality virtual reality system, William Paterson University’s Criminology and Criminal Justice Program joins colleges across the country in providing students with innovative, immersive educational technology to prepare future criminal justice professionals,” said Eren. “Through the WrapReality VR system, which places individuals into high-stakes training scenarios, students may practice effective communication, de-escalation, ethical reasoning, procedural justice, and critical thinking for improving both academic and professional outcomes.”