The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) traces its roots back to 1865, making it one the oldest and most historic law enforcement agencies in the United States. It is an agency steeped in pride and tradition, qualities not always associated with the concepts of change and innovation.
However, recent events within the policing profession have demanded that law enforcement agencies accelerate the pace of change and evolve to align with the ever-changing public expectations. Police agencies must seek ways to incorporate innovation into the police training environment to create and facilitate such rapid change. Investing in new technologies and combining the best of the past with the promise of the future has been the formula for success within the MSP.
Rather than rely on a “the way we have always done it” approach, the MSP has been proactive in understanding and tailoring training to its current priorities and leveraging innovation and technology to deliver that training. Modern-day adult learners expect and demand dynamic, multi-modal training that is both relevant to the officer and the public. Blending the old with the new has elevated the MSP training environment and provided for better public safety outcomes.
Training Academy Advances
While many agencies have moved away from a stress-based training academy, the MSP has intentionally chosen to retain that aspect of the recruit training experience. This approach reflects the requirement that, as the principal statewide law enforcement agency, the MSP must maintain a capacity to respond in large numbers to critical incidents, provide crowd management, and address civil unrest. Doing so in a cohesive, effective, and disciplined manner is at the heart of providing this service across Massachusetts. These deployments often involve stressful, dangerous situations that require a great deal of coordination and restraint. The success or failure of the MSP response will have a direct impact on public confidence and trust in the MSP. The training that provides troopers and supervisors with the skills and knowledge to carry out those missions is a critical element to help build and maintain that trust.
“Presenting a polished, disciplined, and professional appearance and approach in stressful situations is often the first step to successfully resolving them.”
Traditionally, the Massachusetts State Police trainees are exposed to these stress-based conditions during their time at the academy and periodically again during in-service training as troopers. This serves to make them operationally ready when they are deployed. Presenting a polished, disciplined, and professional appearance and approach in stressful situations is often the first step to successfully resolving them.
But repeating the same dated training regime fails to account for changes in public and legislative expectations. Like most agencies, the MSP has had to incorporate new legislative mandates and restrictions as part of the police reform movement. These new mandates have created the opportunity for new and positive change—an opportunity the MSP is not squandering.
Virtual Video Simulators
The MSP has made significant recent investments in new technologies to enhance the training experience both for new trainees and incumbents. Among them is the use of virtual video simulators to create scenarios that challenge and test learners in realistic ways. MSP trainees can now enter a virtual police training system that produces a realistic scenario in an intense and immersive experience. These scenarios test skills, reflexes, and, perhaps more importantly, critical decision-making under stress. The scenarios replicate real-world settings that troopers may respond to (e.g., airports, stadiums, government buildings). MSP scripts and records its scenarios, meaning that the variety of incidents presented are potentially unlimited—from domestic incidents to traffic stops to encounters with people in crisis and more. This provides trainees with the ability to hone skills and review the outcomes of their actions and decisions in a controlled training environment. An environment designed to prepare them better when they encounter a like situation in the field. Creating cost-effective ways to virtually expose trainees to real-world stress and to learn important concepts such as de-escalation, use of force, and duty to intercede will prepare trainees for the many challenges they will face as troopers.
VR Scenarios
Another new option for the MSP’s learners is to don virtual reality (VR) goggles, where they can experience interactions with unique real-world situations. Those scenarios may involve a response to a call involving a member of a vulnerable population or an individual experiencing PTSD, autism, or mental health challenges. The technology embedded in the goggles provides, yet again, a cost-effective, and realistic method to deliver training and has been well received by those who are involved. As an added educational bonus, users can experience and visualize the interaction through the subject’s perspective, providing the user the ability to gain some insight, appreciation, and empathy for the members of the public they interact with on the job.
Reality-Based Facility
In yet another commitment to incorporate new innovations and approaches, the MSP has invested in a reality-based training facility, complete with moveable walls and realistic furnishings designed to mimic a variety of classroom, residential, and office settings. The flexibility of the space allows instructors to configure and create new training spaces to continually challenge users. This building is also equipped with recording and monitoring cameras, as well as an audio system and a dedicated debriefing area. The intent is to have trainees and troopers, equipped with submunitions, work through various entry scenarios and room-clearing exercises in carefully scripted activities that will test their decision-making and tactical skills. Instructors and role players can guide the students through the scenario and then have an opportunity to conduct a video review of their performance, provide feedback, and improve upon skills.
Firearm Platform
New technologies, such as reflex optics and lighting, have recently been added to the MSP duty firearm platform. This transition has been extremely well received by troopers. The transition from traditional iron sights to the reflex optics has led to increased range scores during the last recruit academy and virtually eliminated the need for remedial firearm training at the recruit level. As the transition continues, incumbent members transitioning to the new platform also report better range scores and increased confidence in their shot placement.
The new weapons platform also has a rail-mounted light. In an age where all use-of-force incidents are subject to great internal and public scrutiny, members recognize the benefit of readily accessible lighting to help identify threats and more accurately inform their use-of-force decision-making.
Both advancements in weapon sighting and lighting have increased the user’s confidence and accuracy in the use of the duty firearm, reducing the risk of rounds missing the intended target. This translates into increased officer safety during lethal force encounters and decreased risk to the public. Providing weapon-mounted lighting puts troopers in the best position to make both an accurate decision on the use of force and to effectively use the firearm when forced to do so in low light conditions. This benefits both the trooper and the public.
On-the-Job Advances
Like many agencies, the MSP suffers from decreased staffing numbers. To get troopers out of the barracks and back on patrol, where they can provide a response and serve as a backup, the MSP has incorporated the use of speech-to-text recognition software. Troopers are provided with the ability to dictate their reports and field notes using a desktop, in-car laptop, or mobile device. In addition, the software allows troopers to fill out forms, such as crash reports, via speech. The speech-to-text capability has been included in most of the MSP programs and forms available to troopers in-car. Troopers can now query license plates and persons through their in-car laptops verbally, which provides the troopers with the ability to stay in a heads-up orientation and maintain situational awareness of their surroundings, thereby increasing officer safety. The MSP pilot program demonstrated that the ability to quickly complete reports resulted in more time on the road and increased officer productivity, both desired outcomes.
Watch Center
Another area in which the Massachusetts State Police continues to leverage the use of technology is through its investment in the Commonwealth Watch Center, located at State Police Headquarters. The 24/7, 365-day-a-year Watch Center is staffed by a combination of sworn and non-sworn analysts and acts as the real-time crime center for the department. The Watch Center, which is aligned with the Commonwealth Fusion Center, helps troopers and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. Through the Watch Center, officers can request detailed subject or property background checks and the creation of law enforcement bulletins such as BOLO and officer safety warnings. The Watch Center can also assist officers in the field with creating photo arrays and can conduct detailed social media checks. By aggregating various law enforcement and open-source databases, the Watch Center has become a one-stop shop for tactical intelligence. Embedded within the Watch Center are MSP telecommunicators who are continually monitoring the public safety radio channels across the state and alerting analysts in real time to developing situations such as pursuits, traffic concerns, barricaded subjects, protests, and other critical incidents.
The primary feature of the Watch Center is its massive, configurable video display.
This display allows analysts to visually display and present data to assist in decision-making. An analyst could, for example, be alerted by the embedded telecommunicators of an active pursuit. The analysts can then leverage their databases to help identify the vehicle, as well as the subjects and addresses associated with that vehicle. The analyst can then quickly pull up cameras in the area for real-time monitoring and review and begin to identify the closest responding resources and display their location on the video wall. All relevant information can be relayed from the analyst to the troopers and supervisors in the field via the embedded telecommunicators. Possessing this information could help to determine whether a pursuit should continue or be terminated and enhance officer safety.
The Watch Center also has the ability to pull in and display video streams from a number of sources. Cameras on department aircraft, marine units, and drones can be streamed in real time or historically on the video board at the Watch Center. Both covert and overt department cameras can also be monitored and displayed, as well as images from fixed and mobile automated license plate readers. The Watch Center also maintains agreements with other camera system operators to access traffic, transit, and city-operated camera systems.
The Watch Center plays an integral part in assisting the MSP and its law enforcement partners in facilitating the many constitutionally protected first amendment gatherings held each year in Massachusetts. Ensuring that the department is aware of these events and occurrences is the first step towards planning and facilitating public safety around these large gatherings. This, in turn, has helped ensure that the public can feel safe at such events and that any potential public safety impacts are mitigated.
Whether on the road or at headquarters, decision-makers and supervisors are increasingly in need of timely, reliable intelligence that can inform their decision-making to provide the best public safety outcomes. The innovations at the Watch Center have consistently delivered that intelligence and presented it in a way that allows fresh information to drive operations.
Conclusion
These are but a few examples of how the Massachusetts State Police is incorporating new technologies and innovative approaches to meet the demands of the modern policing environment. Looking to the future, without sacrificing tradition and time-tested training strategies will help the MSP to fulfill its mission of providing superior public safety to the people of Massachusetts. d
Please cite as
Christopher Mason, “New Innovations Build on Tradition,” Police Chief Online, February 8, 2023.
