VR4React – Reducing Reactive Aggression through Virtual Reality

Coordinator:

• Universidad Rey Juan Carlos – Spain.

Partners:

• Innovative Prison Systems (IPS) – Portugal,
• Polish Platform for Homeland Security (PPHS) – Poland,
• Education and Innovation Hub (KMOP) – Greece,
• University St Kliment Ohridski Bitola (UKLO) – North Macedonia,
• Ministry of Justice – Ankara Probation Directorate (DSDB) – Turkey,
• Baia Mare Penitentiary (ANP) – Romania,
• National Administration of Penitentiaries (ANP) – Republic of Moldova.

About the project:

Although indicators of aggression and conflict in prison are often unreported, essentially because they are often clandestine, easily overlooked or underestimated, evidence suggests that institutional prison factors are significantly associated with levels of misbehaviour, reactive aggression, misconduct and violence.

The VR4React project aims to target reactive aggression within inmates through direct action next to the incarcerated population and staff training. The initiative will support inmates to avoid reactive aggressive conduct, replacing it with pro-social and adaptive behaviours.

In addition, the project will promote an increase in the competence of prison officers to respond effectively to reactive aggressive behaviour among inmates.

In line with this, VR4React is also focused on ensuring that offenders in community settings don’t pose a risk for society and adopt prosocial responses rather than reactive aggressive acts, hence reactive aggressive individuals on probation will also be a target of intervention – this allows to solidify projects’ main action: reduce reactive aggressive acts and promote rehabilitation.

These goals will be achieved through technology – enhanced training programmes, providing an innovative and effective opportunity for learning and training critical skills and behaviours relating to reactive aggression.

Objectives of VR4React:

• Promote psychological, social, and emotional well-being of inmates.
• Reduce the risks of reactive aggression between prison staff and inmates.
• Promote the capacity-building and training of prison officers for dealing with reactive aggression.
• Develop the inmates’ ability to adopt pro-social and adaptive behaviours when facing perceived threats, dangers, provocations, or frustrations rather than engaging in acts based on aggression, anger, hostility, and impulsivity.
• Promote the rehabilitation and social reintegration of inmates who tend to engage in reactive aggressive behaviours.

Timeframe:

09/2022 – 08/2025 (36 months)