Police and fire services in Orkney are to begin making use of virtual reality headsets to tackle driving offences and anti-social behaviour.
A meeting of Orkney Council’s police and fire sub-committee took place this afternoon.
Councillors were told that the devices will help the services engage with younger people in the county.
Scott Gibson from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service gave an update to the sub-committee.
He explained the use of the virtual headsets would be done as a part of work with criminal justice services.
The devices will be used to educate people about driving offences and fire safety.
Hopefully, this will lead to a reduction in “bad driving habits and anti-social behaviour” he said.
He said the devices provide a “more technological way” of delivering some of the educational initiatives that the services provide in communities.
Mr Gibson said: “It’s got many benefits because you can do so many different programmes with it.”
The use of VR as an educational tool is helping the emergency services put information across to younger folk, councillors were told.
The devices provide a perspective that younger people seem to engage with, said the SRFS officers at the sub-committee.
While the headsets are said to be a fantastic tool, there is a downside.
The number of people that can use them is limited by the headsets available, Mr Gibson said.
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