A specialist police trainer has praised a sophisticated training system used to develop the detectives of the future.

Detective Constable Craig Toogood, of Gwent Police, has said that the use of the Hydra Simulation Centre, which provides a unique learning and teaching environment and is used to conduct immersive, simulated scenarios, has made an invaluable difference to the service’s ability to train its new detectives.

The Hydra system has been operating out of the University of South Wales Campus in Glyntaf, Pontypridd, for the past decade, with a new suite now operating at the University’s Newport Campus.

It has been used by Gwent Police to teach police officers to use specific skills and develop their understanding of a variety of policing situations.

It works by presenting a scenario to the users via a mix of video clips, audio clips and written tasks, then provides an environment to ability record decisions and actions.  

Other organisations which have also used the system include those operating in the emergency services sector, health care, social services, education police, fire services and law enforcement also many in both the UK and international save-life sectors.

Having recently used Hydra to train the next generation of the force’s detectives, DC Toogood said: “We used Hydra recently for entry training for people who have applied to become a detective and need to move forward and pass the relevant exams, as they do in all forces across the UK.

“As part of our training we use the Hydra system to go through a case study, which is all about training those attending to make decisions, to show the rationale around those decisions, and to support their decision making and subsequent impact on the victim and the communities.

“It’s great because a lot of things in policing are about making a decision and having the rationale behind it about why you made that decision, which the Hydra really helps with.

“It’s a really good environment, and as realistic as it’s going to be without actually being out there and doing the job. It gives those involved in the training a bit of experience of dealing with potential issues they may come across, which is a great way of learning all about the job they want to do.

“For me, Hydra gives us an invaluable insight into the decision-making process as we can look at the evidence from the system to see what impact that can have; as a police trainer, these are vital to us as we aim to provide the best level of service for our communities.”

Nick McLain, assistant chief constable of Gwent Police, said: “We have found Hydra and USW invaluable partners in helping to progress our work to tackle the cultural challenges facing policing.

“In particular, the ‘culture and conduct’ scenario is a ground-breaking piece of work that allows us to analyse and debrief decisions made by our officers when faced with challenging ethical dilemmas. It is helping us build an inclusive workplace, with ethical leadership that will give communities confidence in our officers and our service.”

The new Hydra technology and methodologies on Newport Campus is also enabling the use of the system  for research.

Claire Parmenter, director of professional practice for the Hydra Research and Innovation Centre at USW, said: “The Hydra Research and Innovation Centre has already evolved to further develop the use of Hydra by utilising data generated by users of the system to inform research projects, which aim to improve organisational culture and decision making.

“USW is one of almost 100 organisations worldwide using the Hydra methodology, but the HRIC is the first of its kind.

"One of our first tasks was to develop a ‘culture and conduct’ scenario that will be shared across the UK emergency services and public sector organisations, which is designed to try to tackle significant cultural challenges facing policing and other emergency services.

“By putting individuals through this simulation we can give people the courage to highlight damaging behaviours and to work though how to tackle them in a safe environment. By engaging with the communities of Wales, our reach out is giving them a voice and improving public confidence,

“As one of the key aims of USW 2030 is to improve lives for the better, we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with other stakeholders in this critically important space to influence and support organisations.”